VEILED    MYSTERIES    OF    EGYPT 


VEILED  MYSTERIES 
OF  EGYPT 

AND  THE   RELIGION   OF  ISLAM 


BY 


S.    H.    LEEDER 

AUTHOR    OF    "THE    DESERT    GATEWAY 


WITH   PHOTOGRAPHS   BY  THE  AUTHOR 
G.  LEKEGIAN,  AND  P.  DITTRICH,  CAIRO 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1913 


TO 

EDWARD  BOUSFIELD  DAWSON 

AS    A   SIGN   OF 
AFFECTION    AND   GRATITUDE 


259894 


TO 

EDWARD  BOUSFIELD  DAWSON 

AS    A   SIGN   OF 
AFFECTION    AND   GRATITUDE 


259894 


PREFACE 

THERE  has  always  been  a  veil  of  mystery  over  the 
religion  of  Islam,  from  its  very  first  days.  The  mockery 
of  the  Jews  stung  the  early  Moslems,  who  sprang  from 
a  people  keenly  sensitive  to  ridicule,  as  they  are  even  now. 
The  bitterest  sayings  of  the  Prophet  were  excited  by 
those  who  scoffed  at  the  religious  exercises  of  himself 
and  his  followers. 

It  was  mockery  that  led  Mohammed  to  enjoin 
secrecy  for  much  of  the  liturgical  worship  of  his  people, 
and  possibly  had  something  to  do  with  the  order  to  seal 
Arabia,  and  the  Holy  Cities  of  Medina  and  Mecca 
especially,  against  all  men  of  a  different  faith.  It  is 
the  fear  of  mockery  which  closes  the  most  sacred  places 
of  Islam  to  this  day,  a  fear  which  in  some  places  engenders 
a  fanatical  resentment  against  the  prying  of  strangers. 

Secrecy  has  told  against  a  proper  understanding  of 
the  practices  of  this  religion.  An  almost  invulnerable 
reticence  on  the  part  of  its  adherents  has  led  the  casual 
or  unsympathetic  observer  into  mistaken  judgments, 
or  has  left  those  in  deep  ignorance  of  the  truth,  who, 
dealing  with  a  franker  people,  would,  by  residence  amongst 
them,  have  become  familiar  with  the  views  and  practices 
of  their  neighbours.  It  is  a  rare  thing  in  Egypt,  for 
instance,  to  find  anything  more  than  a  superficial  know- 
ledge of  Islam  on  the  part  of  European  residents.  As 
for  the  ordinary  tourist,  between  the  chicanery  of  the 


viii  PREFACE 

plausible  scamp  calling  himself  a  dragoman,  and  the 
deep  reserve  of  the  religious  Moslem,  it  is  something 
less  than  knowledge  that  he  takes  away  with  him. 

To  anyone  who  would  understand  the  greater  human 
forces  at  work  in  the  world,  the  importance  of  something 
like  a  just  appreciation  of  a  religion  numbering  over 
two  hundred  and  sixty  million  souls  is  at  once  evident. 
Napoleon  at  one  period  of  his  life  thought  to  use  this 
great  force  in  his  project  of  a  world-conquest,  and 
declared  that  he  might  even  become  a  Moslem  himself. 
In  our  present  day  we  have  seen  the  approach  of  Ger- 
many to  Islamic  Turkey,  with  an  undoubted  eye  on 
the  Chaliphate  of  Islam ;  the  Kaiser  going  so  far 
as  to  speak  of  the  Sultan  as  "  my  friend  and  ally." 
In  Cairo  I  have  heard  the  suggestion,  from  Mr.  Carl 
Peters  himself,  which  in  one  of  his  recent  books  of  travel 
he  puts  into  precise  words :  "  There  is  one  factor  which 
might  fall  on  our  side  of  the  balance,  and  in  the  case  of 
a  world-war  might  be  made  useful  to  us ;  that  factor 
is  Islam.  As  Pan-Islamism  it  could  be  played  against 
Great  Britain,  as  well  as  against  the  French  Republic, 
and  if  German  policy  is  bold  enough,  it  can  fashion  the 
dynamite  to  blow  into  air  the  rule  of  the  Western 
Powers  from  Cape  Nun  (Morocco)  to  Calcutta." 

And  yet  the  extent  of  the  ignorance  of  Islam  in  the 
West  is  as  great  as  it  is  incomprehensible.  Any  man  who 
has  nothing  to  guide  him  but  the  popular  knowledge 
of  the  Prophet  of  Arabia  and  his  teachings,  as  they 
affect  his  followers  to-day,  must  find,  as  I  did,  when 
I  came  to  live  with  the  Arab  folk  of  North  Africa,  and 
later  of  Egypt,  and  to  read  the  Koran  for  myself,  how 
perplexingly  ignorant  of  the  truth  he  is. 

If  he  turns  to  the  writings  of  the  professional  Oriental- 


PREFACE  ix 

ist  he  finds  little  real  help,  for  they  are  redolent  of  the 
lamp,  and  seldom  of  the  ways  and  haunts  of  living  men  ; 
to  the  writings  of  the  missionaries,  he  finds  them  in 
many  cases  imbued  with  a  strange  dislike  of  everything 
Islamic,  which  makes  them  partial,  and  inadequate  to 
really  inform  the  mind  of  the  unprejudiced  inquirer. 
I  do  not  write  this  in  antagonism  to  the  work  of  the 
missionaries.  But  I  am  bound  to  admit  that  I  know 
nothing  more  misleading  than  those  missionary  writings, 
which  are  having  the  greatest  acceptance  just  now,  of 
the  Rev.  W.  St.  Clair-Tisdall,  whose  Religion  of  the  Cres- 
cent I  consider  a  heartless  book,  for  all  its  scholarship. 
One  page  of  Lady  Duff  Gordon's  kindly  observations 
of  the  life  of  Moslem  people  in  her  Letters  from  Egypt  is 
worth  all  its  erudition.  Mr.  Samuel  M.  Zwemer,  the 
secretary  of  the  Students'  Volunteer  Movement  in 
America,  who  has  lived  as  a  missionary  in  Arabia,  is 
another  prolific  writer  whose  cruel  and  relentless  attacks 
on  Islam  are  finding  great  acceptance  with  stay-at-home 
people  of  the  West.  Though  the  readers  may  be  excited 
thereby  at  the  degradation  and  darkness  they  are  called 
upon  to  contribute  to  remove,  they  are  certainly  misled 
if  they  think  they  are  gaining  a  fair  view  of  the  life  and 
religion  of  the  people  described.  It  is  strange  to  me 
that  men  holding  views  so  lacking  in  sympathetic  insight 
as  these  two  writers  could  ever  expect  to  find  any 
acceptance  with,  or  to  do  good  to,  the  people  they  can 
so  write  of. 

The  controversy  aroused  by  a  speech  of  the  Bishop 
of  London  last  year,  in  the  Albert  Hall,  will  be  fresh 
in  many  minds.  Moslems  everywhere  were  amazed 
and  hurt  that  they  could  be  said  to  "  turn  out  the  name 
of  Christ  as  evil,"  the  name  they  revere  equally  with 


x  PREFACE 

the  name  of  their  Prophet,  and  whose  virgin  mother 
they  never  mention  without  terms  of  deep  respect. 
The  Bishop,  when  the  storm  broke,  admitted  that  he 
knew  nothing  of  Islam,  but  had  gone  for  his  information 
to  the  work,  The  Reproach  of  Islam,  by  the  Rev.  W.  H. 
T.  Gairdner,  who  for  over  ten  years  has  been  a  missionary 
in  Cairo.  This  work  is  not  bitter,  as  the  others  are,  but 
it  is,  like  them,  lacking  in  that  sense  of  human  affection, 
without  which,  it  seems  to  me,  no  man  can  expect  to  find 
acceptance  for  a  religious  message  by  a  strange  people  ; 
for  without  affection  he  can  never  truly  understand 
their  aspirations  and  their  needs. 

It  is  true  there  are  other  men  amongst  the  missionaries 
to  Islam  who  are  pursuing  a  different  line,  taking  to  their 
work  a  genial  and  unbiased  spirit,  which  puts  them  in 
kindly  touch  with  the  people  they  want  to  help.  As 
an  instance  of  a  work  of  this  sort,  I  may  mention  Aspects 
of  Islam,  by  Duncan  Black  Macdonald.  The  Rev.  C.  F. 
Andrews,  of  Delhi,  is  a  man  who  never  says  a  word  about 
the  Moslem  people  which  is  not  instinct  with  kindliness 
and  justice.  If  such  books  increase,  it  will  be  impossible 
to  assert  that  it  is  to  the  works  only  of  ordinary  travellers, 
and  not  of  missionaries,  that  one  must  look  for  anything 
like  a  true  picture  of  the  life  and  religion  of  Islamic  lands. 

I  hope  my  simple  work  may  be  found  to  contribute 
a  little  to  the  result  I  desire — of  greater  fairness  and 
better  understanding  and  appreciation  of  the  motives 
and  ideals  of  the  followers  of  Mohammed.  My  only 
equipment  is  sympathy,  a  fairly  long  residence  with  the 
people  I  have  sought  to  know,  and  quite  exceptional 
facilities,  in  Egypt  especially,  for  getting  behind  the 
veil,  for  penetrating  the  mysteries  of  the  religion  pre- 
dominant there. 


PREFACE  xi 

A  profound  study  of  Islam,  based  upon  the  immense 
Arabic  literature,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  attempt.  I 
have  striven  only  to  give  the  living  people  the  oppor- 
tunity, which  they  have  never  had,  of  stating  for  them- 
selves their  beliefs  and  their  views.  I  have  tried  to  fit 
into  the  picture  of  their  life,  as  I  saw  it,  something  of 
their  ideals,  with  a  sympathetic  appreciation  of  what 
I  found  to  be  good  and  true  in  the  practice  of  their 
religion.  The  teaching  they  follow  is  not  wanting  in 
stimulation  to  noble  impulses,  or  of  restraining  power 
against  evil.  In  commending  to  them  a  higher  message, 
like  that  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  it  is  not,  to  my  mind, 
necessary  in  any  degree  to  deny  these  things.  Indeed, 
I  am  convinced  that  it  has  been  a  great  mistake  to  do 
this,  accounting  probably  for  that  want  of  advance  which 
is  always  to  be  deplored. 

If  it  is  thought  that  my  picture  is  too  favourable, 
that  I  have  dwelt  too'  little  upon  the  decadence  of 
Islam,  and  of  the  low  moral  tone  prevailing  in  the  East, 
I  can  only  answer  that  I  look  upon  my  work  as  merely 
a  supplement  to  volumes  that  have  been  written  on  this 
phase  of  the  subject.  I  have  sought  the  brighter  colours, 
which  I  consider  other  men  have  ignored,  hoping  truth 
may  gain  by  a  little  genial  light  being  thrown  upon  the 
whole  scene,  which  before  has  been  too  much  depressed 
by  the  severe  and  sombrous  tones  in  which  it  has  been 
represented. 

To  mention  the  names  of  all  those  leaders  and 
authorities  in  Islam  in  Egypt  who  helped  me,  and  with 
whom  I  discussed  all  the  important  questions  of  their  faith, 
would  be  to  tabulate  almost  every  name  of  importance 
in  the  Moslem  world  at  its  intellectual  centre — Cairo. 
To  the  Head  of  the  Church  in  Egypt  I  tender  my 


xii  PREFACE 

grateful  acknowledgments,  as  well  as  to  every  other 
man — sheikh  or  cadi,  teacher  or  administrator,  who  so 
courteously  assisted  me.  To  private  friends  innumer- 
able, in  all  parts  of  Egypt,  who  did  so  much  to  make  my 
long  stay  profitable  and  enjoyable,  I  give  thanks.  Such 
friendship  as  I  have  found  in  the  East  would  enrich  the 
life  of  any  man.  To  mention  names  in  any  category 
would  be  tedious  as  well  as  invidious. 


CONTENTS 

BOOK    I 

MOSLEM  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  LIFE  IN  A  REMOTE  VILLAGE        .....        3 
II.  THE  FELLAHEEN  AT  HOME  .  .  .  .  -15 

III.  TALK  ABOUT  NATIONALISM,  LORD  CROMER'S  WORK,  SLAVERY 

AND  OTHER  THINGS    .  .  .  .  .  31  ^ 

IV.  A  VISIT  TO  A  NOMAD  VILLAGE    .  .  .  .  .47 

V.  WHAT  THE  PEOPLE  EAT.    VILLAGE  CHARACTERS,  GRAVE  AND 

GAY       ........      58 

VI.  PALACE  HOMES  IN  CAIRO  .  .  .  .  .  .72 

VII.  A  COUNTRY  PALACE  :  TALKS  WITH  THE  SHEIKH  OF  TANTA    .      83  »~ 
VIII.  A  GLORIOUS  GARDEN,  AND  A  PASHA'S  BEQUESTS          .  .      98 

BOOK    II 

REFLECTIONS  AND  OBSERVATIONS   IN  THE  MOSQUES 

I.  ATTENDING   THE   EVENING    PRAYER   AND    HEARING   AN    IN- 
FORMAL SERMON          .  .  .  .  .  .113 

II.  AT  ANOTHER  CAIRO  MOSQUE        .....     123 

III.  ADMISSION  TO  THE  MOST  SACRED  MOSQUE,  AND  SEEING  THE 

SEWING  OF  THE  HOLY  CARPET,  AND  ALSO  THE  SACRED 
RELICS  OF  THE  PROPHET        .  .  .  .  .135 

IV.  A  NATIVE  BANQUET.     MOSLEM  MYSTICS  IN  RETREAT,  AND  A 

GREAT  ZIKR     .  .  .  .  .  .  .156 

V.  How  THE   MOSQUES   ARE   GOVERNED.     A   MODERN   MOSQUE 

SERMON  .......     174 

xiii 


xiv  CONTENTS 


BOOK   III 
GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  WHAT  is  THE  HOLY  CARPET,  AND  THE  MAHMAL?       .  .     195 

II.  THE  STARTING  ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE       .  .  .  .214 

III.  THE  VISITING  OF  SAINTS'  TOMBS.    THE  HORRIBLE  PROCESSION 

OF  HASSAN  AND  HOSEIN  IN  CAIRO.    NIGHTS  FOR  GOD     .    224 

IV.  THE  PROPHET'S  BIRTHDAY  IN  CAIRO       ....     241 


BOOK   IV 

THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM  AS   INTERPRETED 
THROUGH  THE   MOSLEMS   THEMSELVES 

I.  THE  MOSLEM  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD  .....     259 
II.  WHAT  DO  THEY  THINK  OF  SIN  AND  PRAYER?   .  .  .     271 

III.  A  STUDY  IN  FANATICISM   ......    287 

IV.  OF  FATALISM  .  .  .  .  .  .  .307 

""V.  WHAT  THE  MOSLEMS  THINK  OF  THE  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST        .     319 
VI.  BELIEFS  AS  TO  THE  EQUALITY  AND  BROTHERHOOD  OF  MAN    .     332 

VII.  THE  POSITION  OF  WOMEN.  .....     340 

VIII.  A  NEW  WAY  WITH  MOSLEMS        .  .  .  .  .371 

NOTES  ........     400 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  GORGEOUS  NEW  MOSQUE  OF  EL-RIFAI,  NEAR  THE  CITADEL,  IN 

CAIRO   ........    Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

A    VILLAGE    SCENE  :     DRAWING    WATER    FROM    THE    NILE    FOR 

IRRIGATION  PURPOSES  ......        8 

AN  EGYPTIAN  WOMAN  AND  BABE          .  .  .  .  .16 

THE    "OLDEST     INHABITANT,"    AGED     no,     ENGAGED    WITH    HIS 

DAUGHTER  IN  PICKING  CORN  COBS  AT  HIS  COTTAGE  DOOR         .      18 

"ON  THE  VILLAGE  GREEN"        .  .  .  .  .  .18 

THE  IMAM  AT  THE  MOSQUE  DOOR,  HOLDING  IN  HIS  HAND  THE 
WOODEN  SWORD  ON  WHICH  THE  PREACHER  LEANS  IN  THE 
PULPIT  ........  22 

THE  AUTHOR  IN  SHEIKH'S  DRESS          .  .  .  .  .22 

AN  EGYPTIAN  FAMILY  HAVING  A  MEAL  .  .  .  .26 

PLOUGHING   IN   EGYPT  BY  A  METHOD  WHICH  GOES   BACK  TO  THE 

DAYS  OF  THE  PATRIARCHS    .  .  .  .  .  -36 

A  VILLAGE  SCENE  IN  EGYPT:    THRESHING  THE  CORN  .  .      50 

A  VILLAGE   SCENE  :     DRAWING   WATER    FROM   THE  NILE  BY   THE 

HAND-WORKED  SHADOUF      .  .  .  .  .  .54 

THE  DAILY  VISIT  OF  THE  WATER-CARRIER      .  .  .  .64 

"THE  ONLY  TRACE  OF  GRACIOUSNESS  THE  PALACE  EVER  SHOWED  TO 
THE  OUTER  WORLD  OF  THE  STREET  WAS  THE  BEAUTIFUL 
MASHRABIEH  WORK  OF  THE  BAY  WINDOWS  AT  THE  TOP  OF  THE 
HOUSE"  ........  72 

THE  HAREEM  OF  AN  OLD  PALACE  IN  CAIRO  .  .  .  .76 

INSIDE  THE  COURTYARD  OF  AN  OLD  PALACE  IN  CAIRO          .  .      80 

"A  DRINK  OF  WATER  IN  THE  NAME  OF  ALLAH  !"     .  .  .88 

A  SCENE  IN  THE  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  OF  AL  AZAR  IN  CAIRO  .       94 


xvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING     PAGE 

THE  ABLUTION  FOUNTAIN  .  .  .  .  .  .102 

DOME  AND  MINARET         ...  ...     114 

THE  MINARETS  OF  AL  AZAR  UNIVERSITY,  CAIRO        .  .  .146 

A  TYPICAL  STREET  SCENE  IN  CAIRO — SHARIA  HELMIEH        .  .     168 

THE  GORGEOUSLY  EMBROIDERED  COVER  FOR  THE  TOMB  OF  IBRAHIM 

AT  MECCA       ........     202 

THE  MAHMAL  IN  CAIRO,  GUARDED  BY  EGYPTIAN  TROOPS      .  .     202 

EGYPTIAN  WOMEN  VISITING  THE  MAHMAL  AT  ABBASIEH        .  .     204 

WORKERS  OF  THE  HOLY  CARPET  IN  THEIR  DISTINCTIVE  ROBE          .     204 
THE  CAMP  OF  THE  MAHMAL  (THE  HOLY  CARPET)      .  .  .216 

THE  MAHMAL  AT  ABBASIEH,  NEAR  CAIRO         ....     216 
ONE  OF  THE  FAMOUS  CITY  GATES  AT  CAIRO    ....     242 

THE  GATHERING  CROWDS  OF  MEN  AND  BOYS  FOR  THE  PROCESSION 

ON  THE  PROPHET'S  BIRTHDAY          .....     242 

THE  "WHIRLING  DERVISHES"  AND  MUSICIANS  .  .  .     252 

PRAYER    AT   THE    PATRON'S    TOMB    IN    THE    MOSQUE   OF    SULTAN 

BARKOUK,  CAIRO        .......     274 

A  STREET  IN  NATIVE  CAIRO,  PENETRATED  BY  THE  NOON-DAY  SUN  .    288 

THE   MAGNIFICENT  ARCADE  OF    CENTURY  ARCHES  IN  THE    RUINS 

OF  THE  MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TOULOUN,  CAIRO.  .  .  .     304 

THE  HOUSE  TOMBS  UNDER  THE  CITADEL,  CAIRO         .  .  .314 

ONE  OF  THE  SPLENDID  FOUNTAINS  WHICH  ARE  FOUND  AT  ALMOST 

EVERY  TURN  IN  THE  STREETS  OF  CAIRO     ....    334 

THE  DOORWAY  OF  AN  ARAB  HOUSE       .....     348 
TAKING  A  DRINK  AT  A  PUBLIC  FOUNTAIN        ....     368 

OUTSIDE  ONE  OF  THE  OLD-FASHIONED  KORAN  SCHOOLS — KUTTABS — 

IN  CAIRO         .  .  .  .  .  ,  .  .388 


BOOK  I 

MOSLEM  HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND 
VILLAGE 


VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 


CHAPTER    I 

"  Strange  as  it  may  appear  to  a  generation  accustomed  to  look  upon 
Islam  as  a  cloak  for  all  kinds  of  vice,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  .  .  .  many 
Christians  who  have  come  into  contact  with  a  living  Moslem  Society 
have  been  profoundly  impressed  by  the  virtues  exhibited  therein." 

Arnold,  The  Preaching  of  Islam,  p.  345. 

HOSPITALITY  and  all  that  generous  chivalry  which  the 
protection  and  care  of  guests  may  call  forth,  are  virtues 
which  cover  all  sins  with  a  true  Moslem,  especially  if 
he  be  of  Arab  descent,  however  remote.  To  be  hospit- 
able was  as  important  to  the  ancient  tribesmen  of 
Arabia  as  to  be  brave  : 

"  A  rushing  rainflood  when  he  gave  guerdons  ;  \ 

When  he  sprang  to  the  onset,  a  mighty  lion." 

Those  writers  who  seek  to  discredit  the  Prophet 
by  pointing  to  the  pre-Islamic  virtues,  should  look  here 
for  their  evidence.  The  tribal  system,  when  each  tribe 
was  ruled  by  the  most  generous  and  the  bravest  member 
of  it,  who  pitched  his  tent  at  the  point  most  likely  to 
be  attacked  by  an  enemy  or  seen  by  a  returning  friend, 
or  a  needy  wayfarer,  had  in  it  noble  qualities.  With 
the  destruction  of  the  tribal  system  there  was  sure  to  be 
a  diminishing  of  these  virtues,  as  displayed  in  royal 
fashion  especially  by  the  chosen  leader.  But  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  by  the  same  process  of  reasoning 


4  VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

it  may  be  shown  that  the  feudal  times  in  England  were 
better  than  the  days  of  greater  security  and  freedom, 
for  the  mass  of  the  people,  which  succeeded  them. 

But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  these  noble  virtues  as  shown 
in  the  primitive  chief  have  largely  survived  in  the  whole 
Arab  race,  and  in  a  thousand  ways  still  manifest  them- 
selves to  the  delight  of  those  who  come  into  such  inti- 
mate relations  with  the  Arab  Moslems  as  admit  them 
into  the  inner  shrine  of  the  home,  whether  it  be  the 
tent  or  the  palace.  Not  even  the  austerities  of  the  sect 
of  the  Wahabees,  who  in  a  blaze  of  grim  Puritan  zeal 
last  century  tried  to  take  Islam  back  to  the  teaching  of 
the  Koran  and  the  example  of  the  Prophet,  by  abolishing 
all  personal  display  and  making  smoking  and  even  coffee- 
drinking  a  sin — they  would  not  have  carpets  on  their 
floors  because  the  Prophet  had  none — could  suppress 
the  inherited  instincts  of  a  generous  hospitality  in 
the  Arab  mind,  as  Palgrave  testifies  in  the  story  of  his 
travels  in  Central  Arabia.  It  was  Palgrave  who  found 
painted  over  a  door  the  distich  of  the  celebrated  poet, 
Omar-ibn-el-Farid  : 

"  Welcome  to  him  of  whose  approach  I  am  all  unworthy, 
Welcome  to  the  voice  announcing  joy  after  lonely  melancholy, 
Good  tidings  thine  ;  off  with  the  robes  of  sadness  ;  for  know 
Thou  art  accepted,  and  I  myself  will  take  on  me  whatsoever  grieves 
thee." 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  enjoy  the  hospitality  and 
genial  protection  of  Moslem  people  under  almost  every 
condition — in  the  Palace  of  the  Pasha,  and  in  the  "  town 
house  "  of  the  country  gentleman  in  Cairo,  as  well  as  in 
the  home  of  the  "  Squire  "  on  his  distant  estates  in  Upper 
Egypt.  In  the  Delta,  too,  I  have  stayed  in  what  we 
should  call  a  ducal  house,  famous  for  its  lavish  entertain- 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE       5 

ment  of  guests,  who  might  be  embarrassed  by  the  wealth 
of  hospitality  shown  them,  but  for  that  charming 
courtesy  with  which  it  is  offered — a  courtesy  perfect  in 
its  quietness  and  restraint,  which  enables  it  to  wed 
itself  with  the  desires  and  wishes  of  the  guest  in  such  a 
way  that  the  mind  becomes  free  to  enjoy  the  good  that 
is  offered  without  a  single  disturbing  thought. 

This  same  chivalry  towards  a  guest  appears  equally, 
as  I  well  know,  in  the  tent  of  the  desert,  and  the  mud 
hut  of  the  remote  oasis,  where  it  can  charm  away  the 
limitations  of  poverty  as  surely  as  it  can  soften  the 
demonstrativeness  of  wealth.  I  valued  very  highly  these 
opportunities  of  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  people, 
apart  from  the  true  friendships  I  formed,  for  the  Euro- 
pean rarely  sees  the  best  of  Moslem  society.  He  easily 
makes  acquaintance  with  the  official  class,  the  Egyptian 
who  has  learned  in  European  cities  to  despise  his  religion  ; 
but  he  is  debarred  as  a  rule  from  entering  the  circle  of 
true  Moslems  of  good  birth  and  education  and  pious 
life. 

We  were  invited  to  spend  a  week  in  a  remote  village 
in  Upper  Egypt  with  friends  whom  we  had  known  and 
visited  in  Cairo.  Arrived  at  the  nearest  railway  station 
we  were  met  by  a  son  of  the  house,  with  a  regular  caval- 
cade of  servants  and  horses,  and  the  humble  ass,  for  the 
five-mile  ride  across  the  fertile  plain.  The  white  Arab 
mare  reserved  for  my  use  was  gorgeous  in  its  trappings  ; 
it  was  the  squire's  own  beast,  in  gala  array.  The  servants 
—each  beast  had  an  attendant — were  of  the  fellaheen 
class,  gentle  and  smiling,  as  that  simple  people  usually 
are  ;  especially  when,  as  in  this  case,  they  are  attached  to 
an  old  historic  house  and  a  master  whom  they  revere, 
and  as  their  ancestors  have  been,  "  time  out  of  mind." 
C. 


j 


6  VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Our  winding^narrpw  path  lay  through  the  fields,  and 
by  the  waterways,  whicrjTalone  bring  the  possibility  of 
fertility  to  them ;  the  fields  being  green  everywhere  with 
the  tall  ripe  crop  of  sugar-cane  and  Indian  corn,  as  well 
as  with  the  new  beans  just  springing  up. 

All  this  part  of  Egypt  flourishes  under  the  boon  of 
the  ever-spreading  system  of  irrigation,  which  men  even 
in  the  days  of  Mohammed  Ali  dreamed  of,  and  realised — 
on  paper — but  which  British  rule  has  made  possible. 
All  the  canals  we  passed  are  new  ;  until  two  years  since 
the  natural  flood  from  the  Nile  was  the  only  chance  for 
the  one  annual  crop  where  now  three  crops  are  grown 
every  year. 

My  friends  are  Arab  Egyptians,  with  all  the  piety  of 
the  early  Moslems,  and  unspoiled  by  that  contact  with 
modern  civilisation  which  their  wealth  enables  them  to 
have.  Naturally  they  owe  much  to  this  threefold  en- 
riching of  their  lands,  and  they  are  candid  enough  to 
admit  this.  The  railway  too,  which  recently  reduced 
the  road  distance  from  the  village  by  eight  miles,  and 
made  possible  a  daily  post,  is  a  greatly  appreciated 
benefit. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  blindly  love  the  British  occupa- 
tion to  acknowledge  the  material  benefits  it  has  so 
lavishly  brought  with  it,  or  to  give  up  all  that  is  repre- 
sented by  Nationalistic  ideals  because  one  will  not 
accuse  it  of  "  Egypt's  ruin,"  or  curse  everything  English 
as  it  concerns  the  country  of  the  Nile,  in  the  fashion  of 
Mr.  Wilfred  Blunt. 

An  amusing  period  to  our  journey  was  made  by  the 
caual.,.about  half-way,  which  had  to  be  crossed  by  ferry. 
Here  was  an  opportunity  to  see  the  country-folk  at  close 
quarters — the  promiscuous  little  crowd  waiting  for  the 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE       7 

ferry  on  this  side,  and  the  group  packed  on  the  ferry- 
boat coming  towards  us,  to  say  nothing  of  the  various 
animals  which  accompanied  them.  Anyone  who  knows 
Egypt  can  imagine  the  noise,  the  excitement,  the  chaff 
and  badinage  as  each  man  gives  advice — which  no  one 
heeds — to  every  other  soul  within  range. 

The  boatman,  as  an  exception  from  the  general 
good  temper,  was  a  wag,  but  of  the  surly  and  sarcastic 
order.  His  remarks  to  his  human  cargo  were  an  example 
of  that  coarseness  coming  from  a  brutal  frankness  of 
expression  so  universal  in  the  East,  and  which  to  English 
ears  is  revolting.  A  criticism  he  hurled  at  a  peasant 
girl  of  fourteen  or  so,  for  her  clumsiness,  and  at  which 
both  men  and  women  smiled,  would — I  hope — have 
brought  him  a  swift  blow  from  the  roughest  navvy  in 
England.  In  Chaucer's  day  our  own  forefathers  were 
lacking  in  what  we  now  think  is  decent  reserve  in  speech  ; 
we  had  not  advanced  too  far  when  Shakespeare  or  even 
Fielding  wrote.  I  am  told  that  in  Egypt  a  slow  im- 
provement is  noticeable  as  education  increases  :  and 
on  the  effendi  (or  gentle  class),  at  least,  intercourse  with 
Western  people  is  having  its  effect,  as  I  can  testify.  I 
admit  that  the  coarseness  is  still  appalling  in  native 
conversation ;  but  it  is  something  gained  that  the 
Egyptians  have  come  to  realise  that  its  repression  is  re- 
quired by  all  decent  Europeans  with  whom  they  have 
dealings.  Neither  my  wife  nor  I  ever  had  a  coarse 
remark  addressed  to  us  during  the  many  months  we  have 
lived  with  Eastern  people. 

This  boatman  was  particularly  enraged  with  one  of 
our  servants,  a  negro,  whose  mule  slipped  into  the 
canal  from  the  muddy  deck  of  the  ferry ;  the  servant 
nimbly  jumping  on  to  its  back  and  swimming  it  across 


8  VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  canal,  by  which  two  fares  were  lost !  Vials  of 
wrath  for  the  negro,  succeeded  by  withering  scorn  for 
all  our  servants,  the  only  tangible  point  of  insult  being 
that  they  were  wearing  boots — and  such  boots  !  the 
young  master's  "  left-offs,"  treasured  for  years,  and  put 
on  to-day  in  honour  of  visitors.  He  would  tell  the 
Bey — their  master — that  such  stuck-up  rascals  were 
unfit  to  serve  him.  All  of  which  abuse  was  received 
with  good-natured  smiles  by  our  party,  whom  he 
obviously  wished  to  excite  to  conflicting  rage. 

It  was  interesting  to  see  the  skill  with  which  those 
in  charge  of  buffaloes — perhaps  a  young  girl  or  a  boy  of 
six  or  seven — would  induce  the  beasts  to  go  through 
the  stream  so  as  to  avoid  the  ferry  charge.  The  saving 
of  the  tenth  of  a  penny  is  worth  any  exertion  where 
the  folk  are  so  poor  as  the  fellaheen  of  Egypt  are. 

We  were  a  merry  boat-load  that  eventually  started  ; 
there  is  nothing  of  bucolic  muteness  about  these  poor 
labouring  people,  but  good-humoured  and  ready 
civility,  a  responsive  smile,  very  little  impertinent 
curiosity,  and  a  willingness  to  serve. 

At  last  we  remounted  and  rode  away.  The  land 
we  now  passed  had  all  been  under  water  at  high  Nile, 
so  that  the  two  or  three  villages  in  sight  standing  on 
slight  eminences  had  lately  been  islands,  but  the  flood 
had  now  returned  to  the  waterways  and  the  river. 
The  villages,  standing  amidst  their  palm  trees,  with  the 
minaret  of  the  mosque  always  rising  as  the  crowning 
point,  looked  very  picturesque. 

Soon  in  the  distance  the  village  in  which  we  were 
to  stay  appeared,  standing  prettily  on  its  small  round 
hill  or  mound.  In  the  centre  was  the  large  house, 
remarkable  in  an  Egyptian  village  from  having  three 


Photo\  [Lekegian,  Cairo. 

A  VILLAGE  SCENE  :  DRAWING  WATER  FROM  THE  NILE  BY  THE 
HAND-WORKED  SHADOUF. 


.».  t 

,  *:: 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      9 

storeys  and  standing  very  high  above  the  other  focuses. 
It  was,  however,  the  minarets  of  the  mosques  that  our 
friend  Omar  very  proudly  pointed  out — for  here  there 
are  two  or  three  places  of  prayer,  one  of  them  built  by 
the  chief  family  of  the  village. 

We  turned  across  the  last  field  of  beans,  then  into 
a  lane,  and  were  at  once  in  the  narrow  ways  of  the 
hamlet ;  such  a  sudden  contrast  from  those  wide  spaces 
of  land  and  sky  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

The  great  house  we  had  seen  from  afar  belongs  to 
the  family  with  whom  we  are  to  stay ;  but  for  us  is 
reserved,  as  the  custom  is,  a  small  separate  house,  with 
its  own  courtyard,  adjoining  the  larger  residence.  It 
was  at  our  own  door  that  we  were  received  by  the  men 
of  the  family,  two  older  brothers  of  Omar,  with  that 
courtesy  of  which  we  were  confident.  This  house, 
and  all  it  contained,  with  its  own  servants,  was  ours  ; 
literally  we  were  to  have  sole  possession  of  it ;  they 
were  honoured  by  our  coming ;  we  were  welcome, 
more  than  welcome.  All  was  ours,  if  only  we  would 
please  them  by  accepting  it. 

In  the  Eastern  way,  these  gentle  compliments  would 
break  out  again  in  pauses  of  the  conversation.  One 
of  the  brothers  would  smile  at  me  and  say,  "  An  honour 
to  our  village.  You  bring  a  blessing  on  our  house. 
Allah  yisallimak  (God  preserve  you) .  From  this  moment 
we  begin  to  live."  Put  into  bald  English,  I  fancy  I  hear 
a  murmur  of  "  gush  "  and  "  effusiveness."  I  admit  it ; 
these  greetings  are  a  form  of  ceremonial  politeness,  but 
they  are  said  with  a  quiet  graciousness  which  must  be 
experienced  before,  to  prosaic  Western  minds,  their 
charm  can  be  realised.  And  the  wealth  of  practical 
hospitality  with  which  they  are  followed  shows  that 


io          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

they  are  inspired  by  sincerity.  It  was  remarked  once 
by  the  natives  of  a  certain  village  in  this  part  of  Egypt 
that  the  murrain  broke  out  as  a  punishment  for  churlish- 
ness to  a  stranger  ! 

I  was  amused  later  on  to  notice  that  this  politeness 
goes  so  far  as  to  lead  a  man  who  is  silently  reading  a 
letter  from  a  friend  to  make  an  audible  reply  to  the 
compliments  addressed  to  him  in  the  letter,  in  exactly 
the  same  way  as  though  the  writer  were  present. 

We  sat  for  a  time  in  the  salemlik  (or  men's  reception 
hall)  with  our  hosts  and  chatted  and  smoked  and 
drank  coffee.  Then  Omar  introduced  us  to  our  estab- 
lishment. It  was  built  rather  like  a  square  bungalow, 
only  with  loftier  roof,  and  the  usual  central  hall  of  the 
Arab  house  of  the  rich  classes,  with  a  room  at  each 
corner  leading  out  of  the  hall. 

Our  bedroom  was  large,  and,  with  its  mosquito- 
curtained  beds,  quite  modern  in  its  furnishing,  but  for 
an  Eastern  brass  jug  with  spout,  and  its  basin,  for 
washing.  Omar  explained  that  our  man-servant  would 
come  in  to  pour  water  from  the  jug  for  us  when  we 
wished  to  wrash  !  Then  bethinking  himself  that  English 
people  preferred  a  splashing  variety  of  ablution,  a  servant 
found  a  bigger  basin  and  a  large  jug  ;  and  our  personal 
Arab  servant,  who  had  no  experience  of  Europeans, 
was  greatly  puzzled  to  be  told  that  we  should  not  need 
his  help  in  this  particular  matter. 

When  we  invite  guests  in  the  West,  we  tell  them 
what  the  arrangements  of  our  menage  are,  and  expect 
them,  more  or  less,  to  fall  in  with  them.  In  the  East, 
by  a  series  of  ingenious  questions,  it  will  be  elicited 
what  the  guest's  habits  and  wishes  are,  and  everything 
will  be  made  to  quietly  fit  into  these.  I  expected  this, 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      11 

and  on  my  part  had  tried  to  find  what  the  family- 
customs  were — with  little  success,  I  own — so  that  we 
made  what,  I  hope,  was  a  compromise  in  what  was 
finally  settled. 

This  village  is  so  far  out  of  the  track  of  visitors — 
tourists  have  never  so  much  as  dreamed  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  place,  so  far  from  dahabieh,  and  Cook's  steamer, 
or  even  the  humblest  temple  of  Isis — that  an  Englishman 
outside  the  official  class  has  never  been  seen  here,  and 
my  wife  is  the  first  European  lady  even  known  to  visit  it. 

I  had  told  my  friend  that  I  was  anxious  to  meet  with 
the  native  people  "  in  their  habit  as  they  live  "  as  much 
as  possible.  And  as  by  this  time  he  had  doffed  his 
European  clothes  and  was  dressed  in  a  galabieh  (a  sort 
of  long  cloth  smock)  he  modestly  suggested  that  I 
should  find  it  easier  to  approach  the  unsophisticated 
country-folk  if  I  wore  native  dress  and  a  tarboosh.  I 
agreed,  and  soon  found  myself  similarly  robed  and 
with  the  red  tarboosh  (fez)  on  my  head,  while  there  was 
placed  at  my  disposal  a  second  set  of  garments  for 
special  wear,  dressed  in  which  I  should  appear  as  a  full 
member  of  the  sheikh  or  learned  class.  In  many  ways 
I  found  this  clothing  an  advantage.  Of  its  comfort, 
if  one  adopts  the  Eastern  mode  of  sitting  on  one's 
crossed  legs,  there  can  be  no  question.  As  my  friend 
Omar,  when  he  is  in  the  country,  is  a  holiday-maker, 
and  has  time  for  all  the  daily  prayers,  he  finds  this 
garment  convenient,  if  not  necessary,  for  making  the 
ablutions  and  other  practices  of  his  religion. 

As  we  rode  about  the  country  a  good  deal,  we  of 
course  passed  many  men  by  the  wayside,  as  well  as  in 
the  villages.  I  was  glad  to  find  that  they  all  returned 
my  greeting  "  Salaam  Aleikum  "—7"  Peace  be  with 


12          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

you  " — with  the  usual  reply,  "  On  you  be  peace."  This 
is  the  general  form — to  be  first  given  by  the  man 
riding  on  a  camel  to  one  on  horseback;  by  the  horse- 
rider  to  the  rider  on  an  ass  ;  and  by  him  to  the  man 
on  foot ;  by  a  man  walking  to  a  man  sitting  ;  by  a 
small  party  to  a  large  one  ;  by  the  young  to  the  old. 
Difference  of  rank  does  not  enter  into  these  general 
rules  touching  priority  of  salutation.  It  was  the 
Prophet's  custom  to  salute  all  men,  of  whatever  faith 
or  condition  ;  as  he  said,  "  I  am  sent  to  be  kind  and 
considerate  to  all  men,  and  not  to  deal  roughly  or  harshly 
with  them." 

If  I  had  been  wearing  a  hat  the  people  would  have 
looked  puzzled,  and  possibly  a  little  displeased,  at  my 
salute,  and  in  some  cases  would  not  have  given  the 
reply,  "  On  you  be  peace  !  "  for  this  is  regarded  as  the 
greeting  suitable  as  between  Moslems. 

"  If  ye  are  greeted  with  a  greeting,  then  greet  ye 
with  a  better  greeting,  or  at  least  return  it ;  God 
taketh  count  of  all  things  "  (The  Koran,  Sura  iv.  88). 

It  is  a  mistake  often  made,  however,  to  say  that 
the  Moslem  will  not  return  the  greeting  of  a  Christian. 
It  is  to  the  idolater  or  pagan  that  as  a  rule  he  will  not 
reply  with  "  Peace  !  "  To  the  Christian  the  Moslem 
often  answers,  "  Peace  be  to  him  who  follows  the 
right  way  !  " 

It  is  extremely  interesting,  and  sometimes  amusing, 
to  see  the  ingenuity  and  persistency  with  which  two 
friends,  especially  after  a  long  absence,  will  sustain  a 
competition  in  greetings,  one  compliment  upon  the 
other,  always  with  a  better  greeting,  in  obedience  to 
this  command. 

"  Salaam  Aleikum  !  " 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     13 

"  Aleikum  Salaam  !  " 

"  With  you  be  peace,  and  the  mercy  of  God,  and 
His  blessing  !  " 

"  May  your  day  be  blessed." 

"  May  your  day  be  blessed  as  yesterday." 

"  May  your  prosperity  be  increased." 

And  so  on.  There  is  something  in  the  Arabic 
language  which  lends  itself  to  a  rhythmic  repetition  and 
phrase  expansion.  Mr.  Talbot  Kelly,  who  knows  the 
out-of-the-way  people  of  Egypt  so  well,  from  his 
travels  as  an  artist,  speaks  of  this  "  old-world  courtesy." 

"  I  am  frequently  salaamed  by  a  native,"  he  says, 
"  who  asks,  '  Does  your  work  prosper  ?  ' 

"  '  Thanks  to  Allah,'  I  would  reply. 

"  '  God  increase  your  prosperity  !  Our  Lord  and 
the  Prophet  know  the  good  men.' ' 

The  graceful  imagery  of  the  East  permeates  the 
expressions  of  all  classes  of  men,  and  among  the  poor 
fellaheen  lends  poetry  to  lives  otherwise  those  of  toil 
and  drudgery.  Every  hour  we  spent  in  the  fields,  and 
the  villages,  and  by  the  waterways,  exchanging  salutes 
and  greetings  with  the  fellaheen,  with  the  unfailing 
handshake  (imagine  how  it  disgusts  a  young  'Varsity 
lad  fresh  from  England  with  his  one-"  paw-shake  "-a- 
terrn  prejudice)  which  to  a  Moslem  is  the  only  right 
way  in  which  to  meet  a  fellow-creature,  whether  Pasha 
or  slave,  served  to  show  us  how  true  this  is. 

The  cordial  word  between  master  and  man,  the 
curious  mixture  of  unclouded  assurance  and  deference 
with  which  the  poorest  and  most  unlettered  approach 
the  rich  and  the  learned  ;  the  dignity  on  both  sides 
which  allows  of  an  equality  leading  to  no  loss  of  self- 
respect  with  either — all  this  serves  to  create  a  happy 


14          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

fellowship  in  a  community  which  in  a  prosier  sphere 
would  be  dull  or  even  sordid. 

Only  the  women  of  the  village  would  hide  when 
we  appeared,  by  retiring  into  a  doorway,  if  possible, 
or  by  hiding  their  heads  in  their  flowing  black  veils 
— and  this  is  a  tribute  to  our  rank,  for  the  fellaheen 
women  do  not  veil  in  the  formal  sense  as  the  townswoman 
does  ;  they  give  no  greetings,  and  only  in  the  case  of 
a  woman  being  well  known  to  one  of  our  party  should 
we  speak  to  one  of  them. 

And  wherever  we  went  we  met  signs  of  the  touching, 
simple  kindness  of  these  people.  "  Would  we  honour 
the  house  by  drinking  coffee,  or  breaking  bread  in  it  ?  " 
was  the  invitation  from  all  sides.  And  what  they 
offer — it  is  all  they  possess  very  often — is  done  as  a 
matter  of  course ;  to  suggest  reward  would  be  to 
deeply  wound  them ;  all  they  desire  is  that  you  will 
condescend  to  accept  the  respect  of  which  their  service 
is  the  sign. 


CHAPTER   II 

"  Hither  we  used  to  retire  when  wearied  .  .  .  and  pass  a  quiet  hour 
.  .  .  talking  over  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  its  future  prospects, 
discussing  points  of  morality,  or  commenting  on  the  ways  and  fashions 
of  the  day." 

Palgrave,  Through  Central  and  Eastern  Arabia,  p.  55. 

IT  was  in  the  salon  of  our  own  house  that  we  again 
met  the  men  of  the  family,  as  though  we  were  the 
hosts,  and  they  the  guests ;  and  soon  after  our  arrival, 
on  the  first  day,  lunch  was  announced  in  an  adjoining 
room.  We  all  went  to  the  dining-room,  took  our 
serviettes  from  the  table,  and  returning  to  the  hall, 
washed  our  hands,  for  by  our  own  desire  we  were  to 
eat,  during  our  stay  here,  in  the  Eastern  fashion — 
with  our  fingers. 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  daintiness  and  the  cleanness 
with  which  even  the  humble  Arabs  eat.  If  the  tourist 
would  have  proof,  let  him  watch  the  boatmen  waiting 
for  the  Kasr-el-Nil  bridge  to  open,  under  the  Semiramis 
wall  in  Cairo,  as  they  sit  round  the  common  dish  at 
their  evening  meal,  as  the  sun  is  setting. 

For  my  part  I  sit  at  meals,  eaten  in  this  way,  with 
pleasure,  knowing  how  scrupulously  clean  the  hands 
of  a  Moslem  are  (the  right  hand  only  is  used  for  eating, 
and  that  is  always  kept  from  impure  contact),  for  in 
addition  to  the  prayer  ablution  there  is  always  this 
special  washing  at  each  meal.  And  one  is  spared  all 
reflection  on  the  mysteries  of  hotel  or  even  domestic 

"  washing-up  "  of  plates  and  spoons  and  forks, 

15 


1 6          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

What  a  meal  this  luncheon  was — forerunner  of  an 
unbroken  succession  of  banquets  twice  a  day  to  the  end 
of  our  stay.  Happily,  as  Omar  had  been  in  England, 
he  knew  our  limitations  of  appetite  (and  digestion),  and 
we  were  not  pressed  to  eat  of  each  of  the  innumerable 
courses,  as  the  usual  Egyptian  custom  dictates. 

After  the  coffee  and  siesta  in  the  hall,  we  explored 
the  village  and  met  its  dignitaries  and  notables.  A  village 
of  this  size — there  are  two  thousand  inhabitants  all  told 
— has  a  mayor  and  a  deputy  mayor,  on  which  officials 
we  now  called  to  pay  our  respects.  They  are  appointed 
by  the  Government,  at  a  small  salary,  but  with  certain 
privileges — for  instance,  the  mayor's  son  is  exempt 
from  military  service.  The  mayor  is  responsible  for 
law  and  order,  and  can  give  sentence  of  imprisonment 
up  to  twelve  hours.  He  is  responsible  to  the  mudir. 
/  Egypt,  we  learned,  is  divided  into  provinces,  each 

province  being  ruled  over  by  a  mudir,  with  a  sub-mudir. 
Each  province  is  divided  into  districts,  and  over  each 
district  is  a  mampur  who  has  control  over  a  number 
of  police  officers.  The  mamour  has  oversight  of  the 
villages  in  his  district,  each  village  having  an  omdah  or 
mayor.  The  province  in  which  I  stayed  was  that  of 
Benisuif,  which  is  in  the  third  or  last  grade,  having 
three  mamours  over  its  three  districts.  Tanta,  in 
Lower  Egypt,  is  the  first  province  in  rank,  having  eleven 
districts.  There  is  a  provincial  council  for  each  pro- 
vince presided  over  by  the  mudir.  The  administration 
work  of  the  province  is  under  the  eye  of  an  English 
"  Inspector  of  the  Interior,"  and  these  officials  are 
members  of  the  councils  which  have  authority  over  the 
omdahs,  but  they  are  not  members  of  the  provincial 
council. 


[Dittrich,  Cairo 

AN  EGYPTIAN  WOMAN  AND  BAKE. 
Showing  the  dress  of  the  peasant  class,  and  the  way  the  infants  are  always  carried. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     17 

From  a  narrow  street  we  emerged  into  the  brilliant 
sunshine,  which  in  winter — it  was  now  December — is 
in  Egypt  truly  golden,  and  of  all  things  in  nature  the 
most  delightful  and  grateful. 

On  the  village  green — only  it  is  not  grass-green,  but 
dust-grey — flocks  of  geese  were  preening  themselves, 
and  the  children,  dressed  in  every  bright  colour,  played 
in  groups.  On  the  opposite  side,  outside  a  cottage  door, 
sat  a  number  of  men  in  white  or  blue  galabiehs,  smoking 
and  chatting.  Now  there  pass  three  or  four  women,  in 
black,  one  of  them  with  a  bright  bundle  of  a  child 
straddled  on  her  left  shoulder,  another  with  water-pot 
on  her  head — the  sunshine  making,  with  each  turn  of  the 
kaleidoscope,  a  perfect  picture. 

We  cross  the  "  green,"  and  enter  the  winding  ways 
of  the  village  again — they  can  hardly  be  called  streets, 
for  most  of  them  are  only  just  wide  enough  for  a  horse- 
rider  to  pass  along.  The  lowly  habitations  are  built  of 
unbaked  bricks,  in  some  cases  plastered  with  rough  clay, 
of  one  storey,  and  in  every  way  are  as  elementary  a  form 
of  house-building  as  can  well  be. 

And  how  primitive  the  people  are.  I  noticed  on  the 
outer  walls  by  the  side  of  the  entrance  of  several  houses 
long  marks  scratched  in  the  clay,  in  one  place  as  many 
as  four  strokes,  in  another  two,  and  so  on.  The  ex- 
planation is  that  a  venerable  pedlar,  who  travels  all  the 
way  from  Medina,  with  henna,  which  is  particularly  es- 
teemed as  coming  from  the  Holy  City,  and  visits  all  the 
villages  in  this  part  of  Egypt,  gives  credit  to  the  poor 
cottagers,  and  marks  his  account  in  this  way  on  the  outer 
walls ! 

Another  house  we  passed  was  decorated  round  the 
doorway  with  crude  drawings,  denoting  that  the  occu- 


1 8          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

pant  had  been  to  Mecca.  A  knock  at  the  door,  and 
an  old  man  appeared.  There  were  many  handshakings  ; 
the  old  Hadj,  as  the  pilgrim  must  now  be  called,  beaming 
with  joy  at  our  interest,  consented  to  be  photographed. 
He  had  saved,  with  incredible  self-denial  all  his  life,  in 
order  that  he  might  pray  in  Mecca  before  he  died,  and 
now  he  was  "  making  his  soul  "  in  his  native  village,  in 
happy  content,  sure  of  the  profuse  joys  of  Paradise  when 
his  frugal  days  on  earth  should  end.  y 

A  little  farther  on  we  called  on  the  "  oldest  inhabi- 
tant," a  man  aged  one  hundred  and  ten.  As  the  whole  of 
his  life  had  been  passed  in  the  service  of  our  host's  family, 
his  great  age  was  well  authenticated.  Until  quite  recently 
he  had  enjoyed  good  health,  but  now  he  was  deaf  and 
almost  blind,  and  was  entirely  dependent  on  his  daughter, 
who  was  very  attached  to  him.  When  he  realised  that 
he  was  receiving  a  visit  from  the  grandsons  of  his  old 
master,  he  hugged  Omar's  hand  and  kissed  it,  calling 
down  the  blessings  of  heaven  upon  him  and  his  brothers. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  fellaheen  of  Egypt  reach 
a  very  great  age.  In  the  takieh  (or  workhouse)  at  Tourah, 
near  Cairo,  I  talked  with  a  man  aged  one  hundred  and 
twelve,  who  had  all  his  faculties,  with  the  exception  of  a 
long-chronic  weakness  of  the  eyes.  His  memory  was  clear, 
and  carried  him  easily  back  to  the  days  of  Mohammed 
Ali's  power  in  Egypt.  Of  course  I  asked  him  the  secret 
of  his  great  age,  and  of  course  he  was  positive,  as  all  old 
people  are,  that  he  knew  it,  although  it  is  the  last  thing 
about  which  there  is  any  agreement.  "  A  good  life, 
hard  work  (he  worked  till  over  a  hundred),  regularity  at 
prayers,  scrupulous  keeping  of  the  fast.  I  believe  in 
fasting,  and  now  that  I  do  not  work,  I  fast  two  whole 
days  every  week,  and  still  keep  Rhamadan.  I  have 


THE  "  OLDEST  INHABITANT,"  AGED  no,  ENGAGED  WITH  HIS 
DAUGHTER  IN  PICKING  CORN  COBS  AT  HIS  COTTAGE  DOOR. 


ON  THE  VILLAGE  GREEN." 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      19 

always  had  faith  in  God,  and  so  have  never  worried." 
A  landowning  friend  of  mine  has  on  his  estate  in  Upper 
Egypt  a  marvellous  old  man  who  is  over  one  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  authenticated  through  his  lifelong 
service  in  the  one  family.  He  travels  by  train  to  Cairo 
occasionally,  and  but  for  an  accident  five  years  since, 
would  show  little  sign  of  his  great  tale  of  years.  He 
preserved  prodigious  muscular  strength  till  he  was  over 
a  hundred  and  twenty  years  old,  and  tales  of  his  prowess 
would  make  an  interesting  volume. 

Another  visit  was  to  the  old  man  who  calls  the 
village  to  prayer  from  the  minaret  of  the  mosque.  As  is 
usual,  he  had  been  chosen  because  he  is  blind,  for  the 
reason  that  of  all  things  the  Arab  people  dislike  even  a 
suggestion  of  overlooking,  or  spying,  or  eavesdropping. 
The  Prophet  said,  according  to  one  of  the  traditions, 
"  Whosoever  listeneth  to  other's  conversation,  who 
dislike  to  be  heard  by  him,  boiling  lead  will  be  poured 
into  his  ears  at  the  Day  of  Judgment." 

It  will  be  imagined  that  the  internal  arrangements  of 
the  fellaheen  house  are  extremely  simple  ;  but  most  of 
them  have  two  rooms.  They  have  no  chairs  and  tables, 
and  want  none  ;  they  sit  more  comfortably  on  the  hard 
clay  floor  than  we  do  on  chairs.  A  few  earthen  pots,  a 
large  shallow  wooden  bowl  in  which  the  cakes  are  made, 
a  water-jar,  a  stew-pot  or  two,  with  perhaps  a  circular 
dishstand  a  few  inches  high,  called  a  soofra,  round 
which  the  family  sit  to  enjoy  the  general  meal  by 
daintily  dipping  into  the  pot — tfrese  are  all  the  furniture 
or  utensils  such  houses  contain. 

The  most  cherished  feature  of  the  household  is  the 
oven  or  furn,  failing  which  all  sense  of  comfort  for  the 
penetrating  cold  winter  nights  is  lacking.  While  we 


20          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

were  out  walking  one  day  my  friend  Omar  was  touched 
on  the  arm  by  a  boy  with  a  request  to  go  with  him 
to  a  certain  poor  abode.  He  begged  leave  of  us,  and 
disappeared  for  a  time;  and  when  he  rejoined  us  he 
quietly  told  me  that  an  old  foster-nurse  of  his  who  was 
ill,  hearing  he  had  arrived  in  the  village,  had  sent  for  him. 
When  he  sat  on  the  ground  by  her  side,  she  had  cried  for 
quiet  joy  that  he  had  come  back  from  foreign  travels — 
he  had  been  away  from  the  village  for  a  year — without 
the  pride  which  she  imagined  would  prevent  him  from 
sitting  with  her  in  the  old  familiar  way  again  !  She  was 
cold,  now  that  the  winter  had  come  ;  would  he  send  her 
a  shawl  from  Cairo,  and  another  blanket,  and,  above  all, 
now  that  she  was  ill,  and  could  not  seek  fuel,  would  he 
arrange  for  her  oven  fire  to  be  lighted  so  that  at  night 
she  might  sleep  comfortably  on  the  top  of  the  furn. 

The  furn  makes  a  wide  low  shelf,  which  becomes  a 
convenient  and  very  capacious  family  bedstead.  It  is 
built  of  brick,  with  an  arched  oven  underneath  it,  in 
which  the  necessary  cooking  is  done  in  the  daytime  ; 
banked  at  night  with  the  dung-fuel,  it  affords  unspeak- 
able comfort  to  all  the  family,  who  spread  their  mats  on 
its  brick  top.  There  is  a  particular  ginn  who  inhabits 
the  oven,  whose  permission  is  always  politely  asked 
before  the  fire  is  lighted. 

Omar's  simple  acquiescence  in  the  poor  foster-nurse's 
request  is  characteristic  of  the  way  charity  is  distributed 
by  the  well-to-do  Moslem  families  in  Egypt.  In  this 
village  there  were  many  small  households  entirely  de- 
pendent on  the  unfailing  generosity  of  the  great  house. 
The  aged  servitor  we  saw  was  one  instance,  and  this 
nurse  was  another. 

Later  we  visited  Halima,  a  freed  black  slave  from  the 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    21 

Soudan — she  had  been  bought  by  the  family  when  a 

girl — who  grinned  and  gurgled  with  delight,  showing  all 

her  negro  teeth,  at  the  sight  of  the  three  brothers,  the 

two  elder  of  whom  she  had  nurtured  at  her  breast,  as 

she  told  my  wife  and  me  quite  unashamed.     I  admired 

the  way  in  which  these  dignified  and  silk-robed  men 

submitted  to  Halima's  embrace.     It  was  delightful  to 

watch  their  expressions  of  joy  as  she  proceeded  to  execute 

a  quite  graceful  dance  to  celebrate  Omar's  return.     This 

took  place  in  the  sunshine  in  front  of  the  humble  abode 

in  which  she  lives  in  the  midst  of  innumerable  children 

and   grandchildren,   supremely  happy  in   the   support 

she  derives  from  her  patrons.     Her  greatest  consolation 

is  that  she  has  been  twice  to  Mecca,  once  as  the  servant 

of  her  mistress,  and  again  later,  with  my  host's  parents, 

as  a  friend.     This  was  their  recognition  of  her  intimate 

and  faithful  service  to  them  in  the  days  of  her  slavery — 

to  take  her  to  the  Holy  City  as  a  friend  and  an  equal. 

Soon  the  magic  hour  of  sunset  came  on,  when  all  t/ 
men  in  Egypt  leave  their  toil,  when  the  fire  begins  to 
glow  upon  the  hearth,  and  the  call  to  evening  prayer 
"  before  the  redness  has  faded  from  the  sky,"  rings  out 
from  the  minaret  across  the  quiet  scene.  The  stream  of 
humanity — man,  woman,  and  child — comes  in  from  the 
fields.  By  ablution  the  men  prepare  for  prayer ;  our 
party  goes  home  also  to  make  ready  for  worship  in  the 
mosque,  which  is  by  our  gate. 

Omar,  who  is  in  a  plain  galabieh,  needs  only  to 
wash,  and  not  to  change  his  clothes,  but  his  brothers 
take  off  their  silk  robes,  and  don  what  must  be  the 
plainest  shirt  they  possess,  throwing  over  it  the  vol- 
uminous black  and  unadorned  cloak  called  the  abayah. 
I  am  to  go  to  the  mosque  to  sit  by  and  see  the  prayer, 


22  VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

and  an  abayah  is  lent  to  me,  as  it  is  now  becoming  a 
little  cold. 

It  is  curious  that  while  we  in  the  West  specially 
adorn  ourselves  for  our  evening  pursuits,  the  Moslem 
at  the  close  of  day  puts  aside  all  his  rich  clothing. 
The  reason  is  very  simple,  as  stated  to  me  by  my  hosts. 

"  It  is  better  to  pray  in  humble  dress,  for  the  poor 
are  at  your  side,  and  all  men  are  equal  in  the  sight  of 
God,  in  whose  presence  we  stand  in  the  mosque."  After 
prayer  too,  when  the  duties  of  the  day  are  over,  and 
no  visitor  may  be  expected  from  afar  whom  it  would  be 
polite  to  receive  in  the  sheikh's  dress,  it  is  more  com- 
fortable to  wear  these  simpler  clothes. 

And  when,  after  dinner,  I  was  curled  up  in  the 
folds  of  my  abayah  on  a  divan  in  our  salon,  I  knew  that 
the  comfort  of  the  dress  was  not  exaggerated. 

We  went  to  the  mosque,  where  two  candle  lanterns 
gave  a  dim  light.  I  took  off  my  shoes  and  sat  behind 
the  little  rows  of  worshippers  ;  who,  led  by  the  Imam, 
made  their  evening  prayer  together  with  a  simplicity 
and  earnestness  deeply  touching  in  such  a  remote 
place  ;  where  the  humblest  toiler  of  the  soil,  making 
prayer  his  first  duty  when  his  arduous  work  was  ended, 
stands  side  by  side  with  my  respected  friends — of 
whose  true  goodness  and  piety,  making  their  praying 
seem  very  "  right  and  seemly,"  I  had  seen  many  proofs. 
The  evening  prayer  consists  of  three  rikas  (or  bowings), 
with  two  voluntary  rikas  when  the  Imam  has  finished 
the  obligatory  ones. 

No  word  of  protest  was  uttered  against  my  sitting 
in  the  mosque  during  prayer.  On  leaving,  my  hand 
was  grasped  by  nearly  all  the  worshippers,  and  every 
blessing  quietly  invoked  for  me. 


M        I 

~    H 


§•  *  H 

§  g  2 

s  8 


<;  H   w 

X 

S   c   o 


•••  .•.          ....,;. 

•:V     .V  ::••:-./ 

•     •  •   0»  „••  €«e»»»  •  '     »      •     •  *  *9 
••••••*•  \-  •  *.    *   *  •  •       •    •*  *•         • 

•  •••»«••••••     c  •..!.-.*. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     23 

It  was  now  quite  dark,  and  the  unlighted  narrow 
ways  of  the  village  looked  very  mysterious.  From  the 
village  green  I  could  hear  the  voices  of  boys  at  play — 
and  later  on  found  that  the  twilight  time  is  just  as 
attractive  to  the  boys  of  a  village  in  Egypt  as  I  know  it 
to  be  in  the  quiet  country  places  of  East  Anglia,  where 
my  own  boyhood  was  spent.  With  glowing  eyes,  one 
of  the  boys  of  this  Egyptian  village  told  me  of  the 
thrilling  games  they  play  in  the  early  evening  hours 
just  before  bedtime  :  robbers  and  brigands,  and  even 
the  path-finding  Red  Indian,  of  whom  they  have 
heard  by  some  curious  by-way  of  knowledge.  Of  all 
places  an  Egyptian  village  would  lend  itself  to  such 
games,  with  its  narrow  passages  and  sharp  corners, 
and  the  pitch-black  shadows  when  the  moon  is  low  on 
the  horizon. 

Or  on  other  evenings  a  glowing  fire  might  be  lighted 
outside  one  of  the  houses  on  the  green — many  hands 
would  contribute  precious  fuel — and  the  boys  would 
be  allowed  to  sit  round,  roasting  potatoes  and  chestnuts, 
and  listen  to  the  merry  or  romantic  stories  circling  round. 
Truly,  human  nature,  and  especially  boyish  human 
nature,  is  much  the  same  the  world  over. 

In  the  East  the  imaginative  type,  as  everyone 
knows,  predominates ;  and  every  child  has,  I  believe, 
a  dream-life  which  can  break  for  it  the  bond  of  material 
necessity  which  too  early  binds  the  offspring  of  the 
poor.  How  often  have  I  seen  these  delightful  children 
of  the  East — sometimes  the  timid  little  sons  of  those 
"  sitters  on  the  bench,"  the  bowabs  of  Cairo — in 
animated  play  with  invisible  playmates  in  the  realm  of 
fancy,  smiling,  nodding,  gesticulating,  happy  with  a 
joy  it  might  be  thought  impossible  of  realisation  in 


24          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

such  an  attenuated  little  world  as  they  have  been 
born  into. 

One  of  my  friends  often  talks  to  me  of  his  boyhood 
days  in  a  small  Egyptian  village.  He  was  a  solitary 
boy,  and  would  often  take  his  food  to  eat  alone  in  a 
hut  in  the  garden,  which  his  family  called  his  prison. 
He  was  nicknamed  by  his  father  the  "  lonely  friend." 
He  would  wander  the  fields  by  himself,  reciting  poetry, 
and  especially  he  would  declaim  the  impassioned  phrases 
of  the  Koran. 

I  remarked  on  the  Prophet's  love  of  nature  : 

"  By  the  night  when  she  spreads  her  veil ! 
By  the  day  when  it  brightly  shineth  !  " 

I  quoted,  and  he  told  me  how  the  thrilling  passages  of 
the  Koran  caught  him  as  a  boy  up  into  an  almost  un- 
earthly exaltation  of  fervour.  Later  in  life  Ismael 
discovered  Wordsworth,  and  often  we  bandied  our 
favourite  lines  from  the  poet  of  nature  ;  and  I  confess 
it  was  not  the  Englishman  who  proved  to  be  best  versed 
in  the  work  of  one  who  is  a  chief  glory  of  our  literature. 

When  the  boys  are  called  home  from  their  t/ening 
games — the  fragrance  of  the  stew-pot  is  generally  com- 
pulsion enough — a  great  silence  falls  upon  the  village, 
for  the  fear  of  ginn  is  present  in  every  mind  ;  and  very 
unfortunate  indeed  does  the  Moslem  regard  himself — 
and  especially  the  fellah — who  is  compelled  to  walk  alone 
in  unlighted  ways  at  night. 

"  God  created  men  and  ginn,"  the  Koran  tells  him, 
fearsome  beings  "  created  of  subtle  fire  "  (Sura  xv.  27) ; 
not  all  evil,  it  is  true,  but  some  of  them  the  enemies  of 
man,  who  assume  terrifying  shapes. 

Even  in  the  twilight  these  dreaded  creatures  emerge 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     25 

from  hiding,  a  common  form  being  that  of  a  white 
hare.  They  traverse  the  village  by-ways  and  other 
places  with  swift  and  ghostly  footsteps,  and  indulge 
their  caprices,  good  and  bad,  with  men,  just  as  our 
ghosts  and  fairies  do. 

If  you  do  not  believe  in  the  ginn,  you  have  only  to 
loofc  at  the  heavens  for  proof  ;  that  "  shooting  star,"  as 
you  call  it,  what  is  it  but  the  stone  thrown  by  one  of 
the  angels  in  heaven  when  an  evil  ginn  approaches 
too  near  in  order  to  try  to  overhear  the  conversation 
of  Paradise  and  thus  learn  the  secrets  of  the  future — 
"  him  who  listeneth  by  stealth,  at  whom  a  visible 
flame  is  darted"  (Sura  xv.  18). 

Is  there  any  wonder  that  in  Egypt  most  men  seek 
their  homes  at  sunset,  and  scarcely  stir  abroad  again. 
I  pitied  some  of  these  village  men,  for  recently  in  that 
neighbourhood  bedouin  cattle  thieves  had  been  abroad 
—  they  had  even  taken  away  the  crops — and  this 
necessitated  a  certain  number  of  watchers  in  the  fields 
all  night.  I  saw  them  set  out  to  their  hateful  task — 
they  might  have  been  going  to  execution.  The  best 
safeguard,  however,  against  all  genii,  and  even  evil 
dreams,  is  to  make  the  evening  prayer,  and  this  they 
were  careful  to  do. 

At  our  house,  dinner  awaited  us  ;  and  after  dinner 
we  went  into  our  drawing-room  (I  suppose  one  should 
call  it),  an  apartment  with  divans  round  all  the  walls, 
handsome  rugs  on  the  floor,  and  a  carved  table  in  the 
centre,  on  which  was  placed  the  brilliant  oil  lamp. 
Here  were  already  gathered  the  chief  men  of  the  village, 
as  the  custom  is,  come  together  to  drink  coffee,  smoke 
a  cigarette,  and,  above  all,  to  talk. 

And  what,   may  be  asked,   do  people  of  this  sort 


26          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

talk  about  ?  This,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  a  rich  house, 
with  a  daily  newspaper,  since  the  post  was  recently- 
established,  coming  from  Cairo  ;  and,  though  in  the 
evenings  men  of  all  classes  gather  here  freely,  the  simple 
poor,  mostly  of  sobered  age,  are  only  too  willing  to  listen 
to  the  conversation  of  men  who  can  read  and  have 
enjoyed  the  advantage,  which  the  Prophet  himself 
commended,  of  travel. 

The  quality  of  the  talk  was  uncommonly  good.  For 
one  thing  I  am  convinced  that  all  Eastern  folk  are 
logicians.  Questions  of  morality,  and  points  connected 
with  religion,  frequently  occur  at  such  times,  with 
stories  from  ancient  history,  especially  of  the  early 
caliphs  ;  everything  connected  with  the  lives  of  the 
holy  men  of  Islam  is  cherished  and  dwelt  upon.  There 
is  no  question,  from  the  way  these  stories  are  univer- 
sally cherished  and  handed  down,  that  the  youth 
of  Islam  have  a  far  better  chance  of  being  acquainted 
with  the  doings  and  sayings  of  the  great  men  of  their 
race  than  the  Christian  youth  has. 

The  charges  of  the  West  against  their  religion  are 
well  understood,  and  endless  were  the  questions  to  elicit 
my  opinion,  on  such  points  as  Moslem  tolerance,  the 
encouragement  of  learning  in  the  days  of  Islam's  pride, 
the  condition  of  their  people  in  present  days  under 
French  rule  in  Algeria.  What  did  I  think  of  Italian, 
Spanish,  German  aggression  against  Islamic  states  ? 

Did  I  believe  the  horrible  scandals  propagated 
against  them  in  the  days  of  the  Crusades,  to  foster 
Christian  enthusiasm  ?  Did  I  believe  they  desecrated 
the  places  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Our  Lord  Jesus — on 
whom  be  blessings  and  peace — in  Jerusalem  ?  Did  I 
realise  that  Omar  made  a  peaceful  entry  into  that  Holy 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     27 

City  with  the  Christian  ruler  by  his  side  ;  and  that  when 
the  Crusaders  entered  Jerusalem  they  boasted  in  their 
official  report  to  the  Pope  that  their  horses  waded  knee- 
deep  in  blood  ?  Did  I  believe  that  the  Moslems  burnt 
the  great  library  at  Alexandria  ?  They  were  delighted 
that  I  had  with  me  a  book  I  was  reading  at  the  time, 
The  Arab  Conquest  of  Egypt,  in  which  the  case  in 
favour  of  the  Moslems  is  so  ably  stated  by  Dr.  Butler, 
who  emphatically  believes  that  the  caliph  Omar 
was  not  guilty  of  the  charge  of  burning  the  great 
library. 

Then  we  turned  to  newspaper  topics,  and  they 
waxed  very  gay  over  the  suffragette  movement  in  Eng- 
land. One  of  them  seriously  contended  for  socialism 
as  it  is  preached  in  England  now. 

/^"  Would  to  God,"  he  said,  "  we  could  stir  the  people 
of  Egypt  from  their  lethargy  so  that  the  poor  would 
claim  their  fair  share  of  the  wealth  which  now  flows  into 
a  few  hands." 

Everyone  present  showed  him  how  his  own  interests 
would  suffer — he  is  a  landed  proprietor — but  he  indig- 
nantly asserted,  to  my  utter  astonishment,  that  he  cared 
nothing  for  that ;  the  principle  was  above  such  con- 
siderations. Here  was  a  man,  in  a  primitive  village,  in 
a  country  hardly  emerged  from  the  conditions  of  feudal 
times,  declaring  for  strikes  and  revolutions,  favouring 
even  the  revolt  of  women  ! 

"  I  wish  Egypt  had  freedom  like  that  of  England,  and, 
even  then,  that  it  was  keen  enough  to  go  on  fighting,  as 
the  people  of  England  do,  for  further  advance  for  the 
good  of  all  the  people.  In  this  world  everything  is  for 
the  rich,  and  the  capitalist,  who  use  men  for  their  own 
ends."  I  was  assured  that  these  views  were  sincere, 


28          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

strange  as  they  seemed  in  such  surroundings.  It  was 
an  Egyptian  country  sheikh,  I  remembered,  who  said  of 
socialists,  "  They  would  break  up  your  pretty  clock,  and 
give  every  man  a  broken  wheel  out  of  it,  and  so  with  all 
things." 

The  good  sense,  and  temper  in  argument,  in  such 
a  community  is  especially  commendable.  Whatever 
the  conflict  of  opinion,  there  is  seldom  or  never  any 
wrangling.  If  one  of  our  party  was  inclined  to  more 
than  ordinary  heat,  the  elder  brother  of  the  house,  with 
that  curious  mixture  of  the  serious  and  the  benign,  often 
found  in  the  Moslem  of  this  class  who  has  passed  his  first 
youth,  would  say  in  a  low  voice,  "  Blessings  on  the  Pro- 
phet," and  the  disputant  would  pause  to  quietly  reply, 
"  0  God,  favour  him  !  "  and  moderation  was  at  once 
restored.  Loudness  is  condemned  in  the  Prophet's 
traditional  laws.  Lane's  observation  is  as  just  of  the 
Egyptian  Moslem  to-day  as  when  he  wrote  it — they  are 
generally  very  lively  and  dramatic  in  their  talk,  but 
scarcely  ever  noisy  in  their  mirth.  They  seldom  indulge 
in  loud  laughter,  expressing  their  enjoyment  of  any- 
thing ludicrous  by  a  smile  or  an  exclamation. 

I  have  often  discussed  the  serious  things  of  life  with 
such  a  man  as  this  from  the  desire  I  have  to  discover  the 
secret  of  the  calmness  and  dignity  which  marks  the  true 
Moslem.  He  believes  that  God  "  sends  down  His  tran- 
quillity "  (Sura  ix.  40)  on  His  servants,  as  He  did  on  the 
Prophet — on  whom  be  blessings  and  peace — when  he 
was  in  danger.  He  believes  it  is  his  duty  to  "  endure 
with  patience  "  (Sura  xvi.  128),  and  he  gets  great  en- 
couragement from  the  thought  that,  if  he  suffers  op- 
pression, the  servant  of  God  who  cannot  obtain  justice 
in  this  world  reclaims  his  rights  at  the  Day  of  Judgment, 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     29 

and  God,  who  is  just,  will  then  compel  his  oppressor 
to  make  restitution  to  the  oppressed,  even  the  highly 
favoured  martyrs  being  no  exception  to  this  rule. 

Another  custom  is  the  way  they  mark  one  of  those 
pauses  in  conversation  which  in  England  is  sometimes 
denoted  by  the  declaration  that  "  an  angel  is  passing." 
After  a  moment  of  dead  silence,  one  of  the  company 
will  say,  "Wahed  dhu !  "  ("God  is  One"),  and  the 
whole  company  in  a  low  murmur  will  repeat,  "  La  ilah 
ilia  Allah  !  "  ("  There  is  no  God  but  one  God  "),  and 
conversation  will  be  resumed. 

I  made  a  note  of  all  the  proverbs  I  heard  in  these 
talks,  for  all  conversation  in  the  East  is  enriched  with 
unending  proverbs,  as  with  a  wonderful  power  of 
expression  in  poetic  form  and  idiom.  Here  are  the 
proverbs  and  saws  : — 

Don't  ask  any  man  about  his  origin ;  you  can  read 
it  in  his  face. 

If  you  censure  your  friend  for  every  fault  he  commits, 
there  will  come  a  time  when  you  will  have  no  friend  to 
censure. 

If  you  spend  all  your  time  collecting  money  for  fear 
of  poverty,  you  are  practising  poverty. 

Man  is  not  to  be  valued  by  the  robes  he  wears,  but 
by  the  character  he  shows. 

The  false  man  is  a  mirror  to  your  face,  but  a  thorn  in 
your  back. 

A  wise  enemy  is  less  harmful  than  a  foolish  friend. 

Make  neither  your  friendship  a  pretence,  nor  your 
hatred  a  menace. 

Men  are  boxes,  of  which  the  keys  are  dealing  and 
commerce, 

A  kirat  (one  twenty-fourth  of  an  acre)  of  fortune  is 
better  than  an  acre  of  skill. 


30          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Patriotism  is  from  faith. 

He  who  is  standing  on  the  shore  may  as  well  be  a 
spent  swimmer. 

The  boy  is  his  mother's  double. 

God  helps  us  as  long  as  we  help  each  other. 

Beware  of  speech — a  word  may  bring  a  fatal  end. 

Avarice  destroys  what  the  avaricious  gathers. 

A    king  without  justice  is  no    better  than  a  river 
without  water. 

The  best  king  is  he  whose  courtiers  are  good  ;   and 
the  worst  king  is  he  whose  courtiers  are  bad. 

Man  is  often  an  enemy  to  things  of  which  he  is  ill- 
informed. 

The  thing  that  does  not  interest  you,  ask  your  step- 
father to  perform  it. 

There  is  no  honour  like  possessing  a  good  character. 

Disdain  not  a  kind  action,  be  it  but  to  give  water 
to  one  who  is  not  thirsty. 

Knowledge  without  practice  is  like  a  bow  without  a 
string. 

Hearts,  like  bodies,  become   tired  and  should  have 
recreation. 

No  pious  act  is  more  beloved  by  God  than  telling 
the  truth. 

Without  hope  no  mother  would  nurse  her  child,  nor 
would  any  peasant  plant  his  land. 

The  young  who  revere  the  aged  will  find  reverence 
themselves  when  they  are  old. 

The  next  best  thing  to  belief  in  God  is  to  sympathise 
with  people. 

There  is  much  good  in  patiently  tolerating  what  you 
dislike. 

A  true  believer  is  not  content  while  his  neighbour  is 
hungry. 

There  are  men  who  are  keys  to  good,  and  locks  to  evil. 

Avoid  vain  hopes — content  is  prosperity. 

Wisdom  lifts  up  a  slave  into  the  dignity  of  princes. 


CHAPTER   III 

"  One  must  come  to  the  East  to  understand  absolute  equality.  There 
is  no  reason  why  the  donkey  boy  who  runs  behind  me  may  not  become  a 
great  man,  and  as  all  Moslems  are  ipso  facto  equal  money  and  rank 
are  looked  upon  as  mere  accidents,  and  my  savoir  vivve  was  highly 
thought  of  because  I  sat  down  with  Fellaheen  and  treated  everyone  as 
they  treat  each  other." 

Lady  Duff  Gordon,  Letters  from  Egypt. 

IT  was  to  be  expected  that  we  should  meet,  in  these 
evening  gatherings,  a  young  Nationalist,  so  many  of 
the  ardent  youths  of  Egypt  being  of  this  political  faith. 
The  gist  of  which  is  that  Great  Britain  has  no  rights  in 
their  country ;  that  she  is  an  enemy,  so  deadly,  that  no 
good  can  come  of  any  of  her  acts ;  that  she  violates 
every  article  of  good  faith  by  staying  in  Egypt ;  that, 
without  any  parleying  or  conditions,  she  should  go,  and 
stand  not  upon  the  order  of  her  going,  but  go  at  once. 

As  a  party,  the  Nationalists  are  less  effective  now 
than  they  have  been  for  some  time,  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  they  have  been  the  cause  of  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  to  those  responsible  for  the  government  of 
the  country.  If  stability  and  fixity  of  political  purpose, 
with  wise  disinterested  control,  had  been  possible  in  the 
people  of  the  East,  no  one  can  say  what  the  Nationalist 
cause,  which  at  one  time  embraced  everything  in  the 
nation  worth  counting  of  youthful  enthusiasm  and  zeal, 
could  have  accomplished.  Corruption,  self-seeking, 
cunning,  allied  with  a  monstrous  foolishness,  a  love  of 
abuse  of  the  enemy  lacking  all  restraint  and  ignoring 


32          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

truth  and  sense  alike,  in  a  desire  to  score  trivial  points, 
all  this  finding  expression  in  a  clap-trap  press,  such  seem 
to  me  to  be  largely  the  causes  of  the  public  discredit 
in  which  the  party  now  finds  itself,  in  spite  of  the 
great  number  of  its  adherents,  j 
(  Our  young  Nationalist,  a  lad  of  nineteen  or  so,  is  a 
student  from  one  of  the  great  schools  in  Cairo,  vastly 
intelligent,  up  to  a  certain  point,  keenly  interested  in  all 
religious  and  political  questions,  confident  in  his  views 
— who  is  not  at  that  age  ? — and,  though  inclined  to 
dictate  a  little,  his  courtesy  is  perfect,  and  his  facility 
in  English  remarkable.  Political  bias  is  in  every  thought 
of  the  lad,  producing  a  curious  retrograde  temper, 
which  could  even  lead  him  to  a  defence  of  Al  Azar 
University  as  it  stands  now,  with  medieval  methods 
taking  no  note  of  modern  needs,  and  even  ignoring 
the  studies  which  made  Islam  famous  before  the  days 
of  decadence  set  in — a  certain  stage  of  which  decadence 
Al  Azar  has  stereotyped.  The  new  reforms  introduced 
by  the  Government  into  the  University  he  considers 
a  scandal.  The  money  left  was  for  religious  teaching, 
and  to  insist  on  secular  subjects  being  taught  is  to  turn 
dishonestly  from  the  original  purpose.  He  considers 
that  all  the  ten  years  of  the  Al  Azar  course  should  be 
given  to  the  study  of  religion  and  Koranic  law  and 
jurisprudence,  with,  of  course,  a  deep  study  of  the 
Arabic  language. 

It  was  useless  to  argue  in  favour  of  a  wide  learning 
for  religious  men ;  for  that  general  culture  of  the 
mind  which  would  bring  to  religious  lore  a  finer 
judgment,  and  broader  understanding,  than  is  possible 
with  concentration  on  one  subject,  and  the  great 
feats  of  memorisation  which  are  now  the  rule. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    33 

Our  young  Nationalist  confessed  that  he  hated  the 
English  people  as  he  hated  their  rule  ;  and  he  detested 
the  teaching  class  we  send  to  Egypt,  as  much  as  the 
English  language  we  force  the  young  Egyptian  to  learn 
before  he  can  obtain  the  necessary  certificates  to  qualify 
him  for  official  employment. 

When  asked  what  he  thought  was  the  alternative 
of  English  rule,  in  view  of  the  unprotected  condition 
of  Egypt,  he  said  Turkey  was  of  course  the  natural 
ruler  to  which  an  Islamic  state  like  Egypt  should  look. 

Did  he  realise  the  weakness  of  Turkey — had  he  heard 
of  such  a  word  in  connection  with  that  country  as 
"  partition  "  ?  He  believed  such  talk  was  folly. 

As  showing  the  unbelievable  degree  of  suspicious- 
ness  which  blinds  these  men — I  have  found  it  universal 
— he  maintained  that  England's  only  motive  in  the 
Crimean  War  was  to  commend  itself  to  Turkey  and  so 
to  the  Caliph  of  Islam,  who  is  a  Turk,  because  we  were 
afraid  of  his  influence  on  the  Moslems  of  India  and 
other  parts  of  our  Empire. 

He  could  no  more  believe  that  such  an  idea  never 
had  any  existence  in  the  average  English  mind  than  he 
could  realise  that  in  recent  British  sympathy  with 
Turkey's  aspirations  after  political  freedom  we  could 
be  actuated  by  a  shadow  of  honesty  of  motive.  Through 
all,  however,  his  deadliest  personal  hatred  is  reserved  for 
Ex-President  Roosevelt,  for  reasons  which  need  no  stating. 

This  is  the  sort  of  thing  the  Nationalist  press  of 
Egypt  has  been  filled  with  every  day,  to  be  read  with 
avidity  by  the  youths  of  Egypt ;  and  this  is  the  sort 
of  thing,  with  its  constant  talk  of  the  "  fear  "  of  the 
English  rulers,  which  brings  down  the  governing  hand 
upon  them  with  severity  and  repression,  and  in  nearly 
3 


34          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

all  cases  makes  it  impossible  to  concede  anything  to 
them ;  or  even  to  show  a  sign  of  relenting,  to  modify 
the  punishments  of  those  of  them  who  come  under 
the  official  displeasure. 

i  A  great  mistake  is  made,  however,  I  am  firmly 
convinced,  by  legislating  as  though  this  sort  of  young 
student  Nationalist  had  alone  to  be  considered.  There 
is  another  class  of  young  man  in  Egypt,  quiet,  thought- 
ful, and  often  travelled,  who  recognises  the  folly  of  the 
opinions  of  this  youth  ;  who  is,  nevertheless,  in  many 
cases  still  his  intimate  friend.  Anyone  who  knows  the 
Oriental  character  will  recognise  in  such  a  friendship 
the  extreme  reluctance  there  is  in  all  Eastern  people 
to  incur  the  displeasure  of  men  with  whom  they  associate. 

In  effect  such  a  youth  has  said  to  me — On  these 
topics  I  never  speak  to  Egyptians  (and  you  are  the  only 
Englishman  I  could  ever  regard  as  a  friend),  for  my 
companions  would  think  me  a  traitor  to  my  country 
if  I  said,  that  while  I  do  not  love  England,  or  the  English 
governing  people  I  meet,  I  still  recognise  our  debt  to 
her,  and  the  necessity  of  her  staying  by  us  ;  and  that 
it  would  be  better  for  all  if  we  could  work  together,  j 

The  Englishman's  probity,  his  firmness  of  purpose, 
his  hatred  of  tyranny — Eastern  tyranny,  that  is  (with 
a  merry  twinkle  of  the  eye),  and  the  unselfish  pursuit 
of  justice,  and  detestation  of  corruption  and  the  callous 
blackguardly  intrigue  which  poisons  our  own  public 
life,  for  all  of  which  Lord  Cromer  stood  like  a  rock,  all 
these  things  we  admire.  Your  exclusiveness  and  snob- 
bery, your  "  Turf-Club  "  spirit  (the  Turf  Club  is  the 
great  meeting-place  of  English  official  life  in  Cairo ;  its 
name  is  misleading  ;  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Turf), 
and  your  cruel  social  pride,  these  things  we  detest ; 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     35 

and  your  scorn  of  us  goes  to  the  quick,  and  fills  us 
with  hopelessness  for  the  future. 

In  your  own  gentlemanly  way  you  English  are 
tyrants,  to  the  true  effect  of  which  you  are  blind  ;  and 
in  your  repression,  and  in  all  the  formulas  of  the  young 
men  at  the  British  Agency,  by  which  we  youths  are 
practically  ruled  at  present  (Lord  Kitchener  had  only 
just  arrived  ;  the  hope  was  that  when  he  had  got  his 
"  pace  "  he  would  see  below  the  thin  and  all-embracing 
recipes  by  which  small  men  think  they  can  comfortably 
tabulate  a  strange  people),  you  lack  any  sort  of  dis- 
crimination. Consequently,  the  ferocious  young 
Nationalist  enjoys  the  heroism  of  your  punishments, 
and  we  who  would  help  you  must  suffer  in  silence,  and 
remain  ignored  and  ineffective  in  serving  our  country — 
and  poor  Egypt  must  be  all  enthralled,  with  little  hope 
or  prospect  of  political  liberty. 

On  one  evening  we  stayed  to  chat  in  the  mosque, 
where  it  is  quite  permissible  to  hold  a  village  confab. 
Indeed,  the  mosque  is  the  fitting  scene  for  all  the  chief 
concerns  of  life.  Here  an  important  journey  should 
have  its  start  and  its  end  ;  in  the  old  days  a  man's  camel 
knelt  by  instinct  at  the  door  of  the  mosque.  It  is  here, 
in  times  of  fear  or  of  thanksgiving,  that  the  people 
should  first  meet.  "  Now,  however,"  said  my  friend 
sadly,  "it  is  the  cafe,  especially  in  the  towns,  that  is 
taking  the  place  of  the  mosque."  ^ 

It  was  an  interesting  thing  to  hear  the  conversa- 
tion of  the  fathers  of  the  hamlet  as  we  sat  in  a  circle 
on  the  mosque  mats  in  the  dim  candle  light.  It  was  not 
a  religious  discussion,  although  texts  from  the  Koran 
interspersed  it,  and  there  was  much  talk  of  ancient 
sheikhs'  tombs  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  the 


36          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

supernatural  attributes  of  the  holy  men  buried  there, 
about  which  they  were  full  of  lore. 

A  word  from  me,  and  they  became  reminiscent — 
of  the  dreadful  days  of  the  courbash  (the  tyrant's  whip), 
or  the  nabout  (his  stick  weighted  with  lead)  ;  for  some 
of  them  are  not  too  old  to  bear  posterior  scars,  the  sign 
that  they  were  not  such  cravens — or  bloated  million- 
aires— as  to  pay  the  taxes  as  the  agent  first  demanded 
them.  Fot  if  they  had  done  so,  it  would  have  been 
taken  as  a  sign  that  they  could  have  been  squeezed  for 
a  larger  contribution.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  in 
those  days  for  men  to  run  away  to  the  hills  to  escape  the 
extortionate  taxgatherer,  and  to  live  for  some  time  the 
half-starved  life  of  the  bandit,  defying  capture  by 
hurling  stones  down  upon  their  enemies  if  they  pursued 
them. 

There  were  agonising  remembrances  of  the  raids  for 
the  corvee  or  forced  labour  gangs,  and  for  the  army, 
when  parents  were  left  broken-hearted,  knowing  that  it 
was  almost  impossible  that  they  could  ever  see  their 
sons — taken  to  worse  than  slavery — alive  again. 

f  If  Lord  Cromer's  name  is  remembered  with  gratitude 
by  such  men  as  these,  it  is  because  he  was  known  to  be  the 
deadly  enemy  of  corruption,  and  was  the  man  who  broke 
the  last  sign  of  the  vicious  power  of  the  bad  old  Pasha 
days. 

It  was  Lord  Cromer  who  ensured  the  revenues  for 
national  uses,  abolished  the  corvee^  and  turned  the  army 
service  from  a  curse  into  a  national  blessing.  No  mother 
wails  now,  and  tears  her  hair,  when  her  boy  goes  oif  to 
the  army,  for  she  knows  that — inshallah  (God  willing) 
— he  will  return,  a  well-set  up  lad,  with  some  education, 
and  with  a  little  money  in  his  pocket,  a  hero  for  the 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    37 

time  in  the  eyes  of  the  village.  Not  that  one  can  say  the 
compulsory  service  is  popular,  even  now — it  will  be 
evaded  if  there  is  a  chance — but  it  is  not  the  black  evil 
thing  it  once  was.  Many  a  baby  boy  was  blinded  by 
his  mother  in  the  days  of  Mohammed  Ali  to  save  him 
from  the  tyrant's  service. 

As  for  the  old  collector  of  taxes,  what  was  here  said 
of  him  reminded  me  of  the  description  of  an  Englishman 
written  from  Egypt  sixty  years  ago. 

"  Having  collected  the  sum  required,  he  retires  from 
the  scene,  hugging  himself  in  the  hope  that  he  can  keep 
back  a  reasonable  proportion.  But  the  inevitable  whip 
(nabout)  again  comes  into  play,  and  a  higher  official 
(Nazir)  avenges  the  poor  fellah  in  the  most  satisfactory 
way.  To  this  tune  the  dollars  travel  gently  towards 
the  treasury  in  Cairo,  and  used  of  old  to  arrive  about  in 
time  to  buy  Miss  Nefeesa  a  necklace  of  pearls,  or  Madame 
Nazlet  a  service  of  plate  from  Storr  &  Mortimer's — as 
now  to  furnish  a  succession  of  flimsy  palaces,  or  pro- 
vide an  elegant  campanella  for  the  vice-royal  breed  of 
pigeons." 

Happily,  under  the  present  regime,  the  palaces  are 
almost  all  being  used  as  schools — of  art,  of  commerce,  for 
secondary  education,  and  as  administrative  offices. 

We  spoke  of  present-day  commercial  honesty,  and  in 
this  it  was  lamented  that  things  in  the  country  had 
changed  for  the  worse.  A  landlord  present  said  that 
when  his  father  died  they  had  not  a  single  written  lease 
for  any  of  their  land,  and  there  were  no  arrears  of  rent. 
Now  they  have  papers  for  every  yard  of  land,  drawn  up 
by  the  city  avocat,  but  farmers  are  defaulting,  and  have 
of  late  learnt  from  Levantine  scoundrels,  who  infest  this 
country,  the  clever  trick  of  bankruptcy,  as  a  way  of  escap- 


38          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

ing  the  payment  of  their  just  debts.  Well  might  these 
men  lament  the  days  when  a  certain  man  (the  story  is 
well  authenticated)  was  known  to  have  bought  a  number 
of  standing  crops  from  different  farmers,  and  paid  in 
advance.  His  receipts  were  burnt  by  fire,  but  in  every 
case  the  crops  were  delivered  at  the  proper  time. 

It  is  a  common  charge  against  Oriental  people  that 
the  truth  is  not  in  them,  and  moral  critics  do  not  hesitate 
to  say  that  the  religion  of  Islam  is  to  blame  for  this.  I 
did  not  hesitate  to  question  responsible  men  (here  in 
the  village,  as  in  other  places),  including  a  number  of 
sheikhs,  as  to  their  opinions  on  this  subject.  The  result 
may  be  concentrated  in  this  way.  The  Moslems  have 
not  only  the  precepts  of  the  Koran,  but  the  example  of 
their  Prophet,  to  encourage  them  to  follow  the  truth. 

All  through  his  life  Mohammed  was  respected  as  a 
man  of  truth.  From  early  days  he  was  nicknamed  "  the 
trusty,"  and  when  Khadijah  married  him  she  said,  "  I 
take  thee  because  of  the  respect  with  which  the  people 
regard  thee,  for  thy  honesty,  for  the  beauty  of  thy 
character,  and  for  the  truthfulness  of  thy  speech."  A 
contemporary  Christian  (the  day  of  European  abuse  did 
not  come  till  later  on),  in  writing  of  the  Prophet's 
mission,  said,  "  Mohammed  appeared  to  his  people  and 
brought  them  together  in  a  union  of  law,  and  forsaking 
vain  idols,  they  returned  to  the  living  God.  He  bid 
them  not  to  ...  drink  wine,  or  to  tell  a  lie,  or  to 
commit  fornication."  ) 

When  he  was  faced  by  the  opponents  of  his  mission 
in  the  first  days  of  his  preaching  in  Mecca,  Mohammed 
appealed  to  the  men  of  the  Quraish  (guardians  of  the 
Kaaba)  who  knew  him  best,  as  to  his  character  amongst 
them.  "  We  have  ever  found  thee  a  speaker  of  the 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      39 

truth,"  was  his  enemies'  tribute.  And  all  through  the 
Koran  his  followers  are  exhorted  to  "  shun  the  word 
of  falsehood  "  (Sura  xxii.  31),  to  act  fairly  even  towards 
their  enemies  (Sura  Ix.  8),  and  to  be  faithful  to  their 
trusts.  \ 

The  Moslem  religion  teaches  the  extreme  heinous- 
ness  of  a  false  oath,  sworn  intentionally.  It  is  a  sin  so 
grievous  that  no  expiation  can  wipe  it  out,  but  only  true 
repentance. 

I  have  before  remarked  that  what  is  often  roughly 
described  as  lying  should  be  regarded  as  an  evasion  of 
the  necessity  of  appearing  ungracious.  Often  when  a 
request  is  made  to  the  Oriental  he  will  promise  to  fulfil 
it  in  a  way  that  to  those  who  know  them  well  is  at  once 
seen  to  be  a  polite  evasion  to  avoid  the  discourtesy  of 
saying,  "  I  will  not,"  or  "  I  can  not."  Such  unwilling- 
ness to  appear  unwilling  is  among  Arabs  a  frequent 
source  of  innocent  deceptions,  if  deceptions  indeed  they 
can  be  called,  like  the  "  not  at  home  "  of  our  own  land  : 
whoever  has  to  do  with  Eastern  people  should  be  pre- 
pared for  them  and  take  them  good-naturedly. 

<^There  is  another  sort  of  untruth  which  is  sometimes 
puzzling  and  irritating  to  Europeans.  A  poor  woman 
was  shown  some  beautiful  jewels  by  an  Englishwoman, 
and  when  she  had  admired  them,  she  declared  that  she 
too  had  jewels  at  home  of  great  value.  This  statement, 
so  easily  labelled  as  a  stupid  lie,  it  was  proved,  she  had 
made  out  of  consideration  for  the  Englishwoman,  to 
relieve  her  mind  from  the  thought  that  her  possessions 
were  envied  ;  for  envy  brings  the  terrible  Evil  Eye. 
And  the  boasting  was  really  a  form  of  politeness. 

Against  this  evil  the  words  of  Sura  cxiii.  are  often 
worn  as  a  charm  ;  and  when  in  fear  of  it,  the  words  will 


40          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

be  recited  :  "  I  fly  for  refuge  unto  the  Lord  .  .  .  that 
He  may  deliver  me  .  .  .  from  the  mischief  of  the 
envious  when  he  envieth." 

It  is  this  superstition  which  leads  them  into  a  sort  of 
deception  which  has  no  intention  in  it  of  imposing  on 
human  beings  at  all.  You  order,  for  instance,  a  new 
boom  for  your  boat,  and  when  you  go  to  see  it,  your 
heart  sinks  to  find  it  with  a  splice,  as  though  it  had 
already  been  broken.  Such  a  fine  new  boom,  your 
dragoman  tells  you,  would  be  sure  to  attract  the  Evil 
Eye,  with  direst  consequences,  and  so  the  fates  must  be 
hoodwinked  in  this  way. 

There  is  always  a  peculiar  interest  to  Europeans  in 
the  talk  of  Oriental  people,  as  they  develop  qualities, 
even  in  casual  conversation,  which  spice  almost  every 
sentence  with  an  element  of  surprise,  appealing  to  a  love 
of  humour,  as  well  as  of  literary  style.  I  have  spoken  of 
the  proverbs,  of  which  they  have  an  immense  store,  made 
available  by  the  wonderful  Arab  memory  in  all  con- 
versation. They  have  in  addition  a  great  faculty  in  the 
use  of  pictorial  language,  and  they  show  the  keenest 
enjoyment  in  verbal  and  quiet  practical  jokes. 

They  light  upon  the  happiest  sayings,  and  a  facility 
of  narration  and  illustration  is  constantly  met  with. 
Palgrave,  as  an  instance,  in  his  travels  in  Arabia,  came 
upon  the  waters  of  a  quiet  bay ;  the  Arabs  had  named 
it  "  Bahr-ul-Benat,"  or  the  "Girls'  Sea,"  for  the 
reason,  I  imagine,  that  they  considered  it  did  not  require 
a  man's  powers  to  navigate  it. 

The  very  street-cries  have  a  touch  of  poetry.  The 
men  crying  cucumbers  sing  of  them  as  "  fruit  gathered 
by  sweet  girls,  in  the  garden,  with  the  early  dew." 

The  whimsicality  of  these  people  comes  out  at  every 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    41 

turn.  "  The  camel  was  asked,  *  In  what  are  you  skilful  ? ' 
He  replied,  '  Winding  silk  !  '  "  as  though  any  conceivable 
creature  could  be  less  capable  of  the  deft  and  supple  skill 
required  for  that  operation.  An  instance  of  this 
drollery  in  their  common  proverbs  is — "  The  monkey's 
mother  thinks  him  a  gazelle."  "  I  used  to  think  Arabs 
prosaic  till  I  could  understand  a  little  of  their  language," 
says  Lady  Duff  Gordon,  "  but  now  I  can  trace  the 
genealogy  of  Don  Quixote  straight  up  to  some  Sheikh- 
el-Arab." 

It  is  this  use  of  pictorial  language,  in  the  form  of 
fables,  in  some  of  the  early  Traditions,  that  has  led 
Western  critics  (like  the  Rev.  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall)  into 
criticism  that  would  be  unjust,  if  the  lack  of  humour 
and  understanding  of  the  imaginative  Oriental  mind, 
which  could  turn  these  verbal  extravagances  into  literal 
weapons  of  attack,  did  not  bear  their  own  condemnation. 

It  was  Al  Ghazzali,  the  early  theologian  of  Islam, 
who,  in  writing  of  the  Divine  Nature,  said  "  that  an 
ant's  weight  should  not  escape  Him,  either  in  earth  or 
in  heaven  ;  but  He  would  know  the  creeping  of  the 
black  ant  in  the  dark  night  upon  the  hard  stone." 

"  When  Adam  fell  in  Ceylon,"  says  another  tradi- 
tion, "  he  kept  on  weeping  and  wailing  and  lamenting 
for  his  offence  for  two  hundred  years,  so  that  from  his 
tears  rivers  began  to  flow,  and  on  their  banks  there 
grew  dates  and  cloves  and  nutmeg-trees.  From  Eve's 
tears  were  produced  henna  and  collyrium  and  indigo. 
Every  one  of  her  tears  which  fell  into  the  sea  became  , 
a  pearl,  and  these  her  daughters  take  as  their  heritage." 

In  the  same  book  (QisasuVl  Anbiya)  it  is  said  that 
the  Prophet  told  his  people  that  the  earth  was  originally 
made  out  of  the  foam  of  a  wave,  which  God  created 


42          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

from  a  gigantic  pearl,  and  that  He  made  the  pearl  out 
of  primitive  darkness. 

Our  village  talk  one  day  turned  upon  slaves,  and 
the  stern  opinions  held  by  Europeans  about  Islam  in 
connection  with  slave-owning  in  Eastern  lands.  The 
historic  fact  is  that  Islam  brought  hope  to  the  slaves, 
although  its  traducers  sometimes  speak  as  though  it 
invented  slavery.  The  first  Koranic  word  on  the  subject 
is  to  reprove  the  rich  for  their  treatment  of  slaves,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  history  to  enjoin  such  consideration 
and  kindness  as  practically  made  the  slave  a  member 
of  his  master's  family,  to  be  treated  as  one  of  his  own 
children.  "  And  your  slaves !  See  that  ye  feed  them 
with  such  food  as  ye  eat  yourselves,  and  clothe  them 
with  the  stuff  ye  wear  ...  for  they  are  the  servants  of 
the  Lord.  .  .  .  Know  that  all  Moslems  are  brothers 
unto  one  another,"  said  Mohammad  in  his  address  in 
Mecca  on  his  farewell  pilgrimage. 

Abu  Bekr,  the  Prophet's  friend,  believing  the  kindly 
rules  in  this  matter  established  by  Mohammed  to  be 
the  will  of  heaven,  spent  nearly  all  his  large  fortune 
to  purchase  slaves,  to  free  them  from  the  religious 
persecution  of  their  masters  on  account  of  their  adher- 
ence to  the  teaching  of  Islam.  Bilal,  the  faithful 
negro,  who  first  sang  the  famous  call  to  prayer,  and  who 
added  the  words  to  the  early  morning  call,  "  Prayer  is 
better  than  sleep,"  was  one  of  these  slaves  who  found 
equality,  and  the  path  to  freedom,  in  the  new  religion. 
One  of  the  stated  purposes  of  the  alms,  which  are 
enjoined  on  every  Moslem,  is  for  the  benefit  of  slaves 
who  wish  to  buy  their  freedom  and  have  not  the  means 
for  so  doing. 

To  this  day  the  true  Moslem  regards  it  as  a  great 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     43 

virtue,  particularly  pleasing  to  God,  to  grant  freedom 
to  his  slaves — in  this  way  he  will  mark  some  happy 
domestic  celebration,  or  he  will  join  this  virtue  to 
repentance  for  sin  and  preparation  for  death.  The 
Senussi  brotherhood,  whose  mysterious  existence  in  the 
desert  beyond  Tripoli  and  Tunisia  gives  rise  to  ever- 
recurring  speculation  as  to  their  purpose  in  resisting 
European  aggressions  on  Islam,  are  known  to  buy 
slaves  very  largely,  with  the  sole  purpose  of  bringing 
them  under  the  influence  of  their  religion. 

The  friends  with  whom  we  were  staying  had  not 
only  freed  their  slaves  long  since,  but  Halima,  their 
foster-nurse,  had  for  many  years  enjoyed  the  happy 
life  of  a  pensioner,  and,  above  all,  as  I  have  said,  had 
accompanied  her  master  and  mistress  to  Mecca  as  a 
friend.  We  heard  of  a  sheikh  who  some  time  ago 
married  his  only  daughter  to  a  slave,  refusing  other 
offers,  because  the  lad  "  was  the  best  man  he  knew." 
A  recognition  of  equality  like  this  is  greater  than  the 
granting  of  freedom. 

And  these  freed  slaves  have  never  found  their  origin 
an  "  invidious  bar  "  to  their  attainment  of  the  very 
highest  posts  to  which  their  natural  talents  entitled 
them.  Egypt  itself  has  had  a  negro  ruler  "  of  deep 
black  colour  with  a  smooth  shining  skin,"  who  rose  to 
be  an  excellent  Governor,  from  the  position  of  a  slave. 
Kafur  had  shown  himself  to  be  equally  great  as  a  soldier 
and  a  statesman,  and  his  dominion  extended  not  only 
over  Egypt,  but  Syria  also.  Bagdad  also  had  a  negro 
caliph. 

There  have  been  periods  when  men  have  partly 
forgotten  or  have  ignored  the  humane  laws  of  their 
early  religion,  and  have  been  cruel  to  their  slaves  and 


44          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

captives,  but  Islam  must  not  be  blamed  for  this.  In 
Turkey  and  in  Persia  particularly  the  depravity  which 
seems  natural  to  man  has  often  obscured  the  best 
features  of  a  religion  to  which  a  formal  adherence  has 
been  given.  As  Mr.  Gladstone  once  remarked,  it  is 
not  a  question  of  religion  simply,  "  but  Mohammedanism 
compounded  with  the  peculiar  character  of  a  race." 

Christian  captives  have  often  been  treated  in  such 
a  way  that  the  teachings  of  Christ  must  have  seemed 
to  the  slaves  like  a  mockery  of  their  hopeless  misery. 
Sir  William  Stirling  Maxwell,  speaking  of  the  condition 
of  the  galley  slaves,  says,  "  The  poor  wretches  who 
tugged  at  the  oar  on  board  a  Turkish  ship  of  war  lived 
a  life  neither  more  nor  less  miserable  than  the  galley 
slaves  under  the  sign  of  the  Cross."  If  we  go  to  Arabia, 
where  we  are  closer  to  the  practice  of  the  first  teachings 
of  Islam,  we  find,  in  Palgrave's  words,  that  slavery  to  this 
day,  as  practised  in  that  country,  "  has  little  but  the 
name  in  common  with  the  system  hell-branded  by  those 
atrocities  of  the  Western  Hemisphere." 

Christian  people  are  asked  to  remember  how  difficult 
it  was  to  root  out  slavery  in  their  own  lands.  As  late 
as  the  tenth  century  the  traffic  was  in  full  activity  be- 
tween England  and  Ireland — the  port  of  Bristol  being 
one  of  its  principal  centres.  In  the  Canons  of  a  Council 
in  London  in  1102  it  was  ordered  that  no  one  from 
henceforth  presume  to  carry  on  that  wicked  traffic  by 
which  men  in  England  have  hitherto  been  sold  like 
brute-beasts. 

In  Christian  Spain  the  Moslems  were  hailed  as 
deliverers  by  the  miserable  slaves  they  found  there 
under  Gothic  rule.  Many  centuries  later,  England, 
under  the  Assientio  contract  with  Spain,  which  had  long 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     45 

ago  driven  out  the  Saracen,  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of 
the  traffic  in  slaves  for  thirty  years.  The  stipulation 
being  that  from  the  first  day  of  May  1713  to  the  first 
day  of  May  1743,  we  were  to  have  the  exclusive  privilege 
of  transporting  negroes  into  the  Spanish  West  Indies  at 
the  rate  of  four  thousand  eight  hundred  a  year. 

The  truth  is,  that  for  generations  Christian  people, 
even  those  descended  from  Huguenot  and  Puritan 
ancestry,  were  trained  to  believe  that  they  had  been 
endowed  by  heaven  with  the  right  to  enslave  the  poor 
African  ;  men  like  Whitfield,  the  evangelist,  had  no 
scruple  in  the  matter  of  holding  slaves. 

The  spirit  of  the  Gospel  eventually  triumphed,  and 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  has  become  a  proud  boast 
of  Christian  people.  Many  Moslems  admire  the  spirit 
which  made  this  great  advance  in  the  cause  of  humanity 
possible,  and  look  forward  to  the  day  when  the  great 
work  which  Mohammed  did  for  the  slaves,  whom  he 
found  downtrodden  and  wretched,  shall  be  consummated 
by  the  world-wide  freedom  of  men  from  the  yoke  of 
servitude.  It  should  surely  be  the  desire  of  Christian 
people  to  help  them  forward  towards  such  an  ideal. 
In  the  meantime,  especially  remembering  our  own 
history,  we  should  be  careful  not  to  misjudge  Islam  in 
this  matter. 

As  an  educated  sheikh  said  to  me,  "  Some  of  your 
writers  seem  to  suggest  that  it  was  from  Islam  that 
the  most  notorious  slave-raiders  of  recent  times  have 
sprung.  So  far  as  we  are  guilty  in  this  matter  we  are 
ashamed,  and  can  only  say  that  we  repudiate  the 
character  which  can  take  to  such  an  occupation  for  the 
sake  of  gain.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  fair-minded 
Englishman  who  has  stated  that  it  was  the  introduc- 


46          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

tion  of  Islam  into  Central  and  West  Africa  that  has 
been  the  most  important,  if  not  the  sole,  preservative, 
against  the  desolations  of  the  slave  trade.  Islam 
furnished  a  protection  to  the  tribes  who  embraced  it 
by  effectually  binding  them  together  in  one  strong 
religious  fraternity,  and  enabling  them  by  their  united 
efforts  to  baffle  the  attempts  of  powerful  slave-hunters." 
The  sheikh  was  quoting  from  Mr.  Stanley  Lane-Poole. 


CHAPTER   IV 

"  The  same  life  is  uniformly  pursued  by  the  roving  tribes  of  the  desert ; 
and  in  the  portrait  of  the  modern  Bedoweens,  we  may  trace  the  features 
of  their  ancestors,  who  in  the  age  of  Moses  or  Mohamet,  dwelt  under 
similar  tents,  and  conducted  their  horses,  and  camels,  and  sheep,  to  the 
same  springs,  and  the  same  pastures." 

,.     Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  vol.  ix.  p.  223. 

ONE  memorable  afternoon  we  rode  out  to  a  bedouin 
village  in  the  sand  hills,  a  few  miles  distant,  to  visit 
the  sheikh — or  chief  man — who  was  a  friend,  to  see  the 
making  of  the  special  tent  cloth  which  these  Arabs  of  the 
desert  are  skilled  in  weaving  from  camel's  hair  and  wool. 
We  found  the  village  to  consist  almost  entirely  of 
a  large  permanent  encampment  of  tents,  pitched  in 
the  clean  yellow  sand,  and  making  comfortable  habita- 
tions. The  sheikh  came  out  to  meet  us  with  ancient 
Arab  courtesy — a  fine  genial  man,  who  has  evidently 
won,  and  knows  how  to  retain,  the  affectionate  adher- 
ence of  his  clan.  With  him  we  walked  through  the 
village,  and  called  at  several  of  the  tents — finding  them 
all  arranged  on  a  proper  plan  for  sleeping,  cooking,  and 
eating,  the  deep  dry  desert  sand  ensuring  the  most 
perfect  cleanliness — being  everywhere  received  with 
almost  embarrassing  hospitality,  which  even  went  so 
far  as  to  suggest  the  making  of  a  special  tabernacle  there 
so  as  to  retain  us.  To  our  surprise  we  found  that, 
although  an  encamp  merit  of  tents,  the  village  is  an 
ancient  one,  as  the  adjacent  burial-place,  for  one  thing, 
proved. 

47 


48          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

The  people  of  this  village  are  a  handsome  and 
hardy  race,  disease  being  almost  unknown  amongst 
them.  The  men  possess  all  the  Arab  skill  in  the  manage- 
ment of  horses,  and  once  a  year  at  a  great  moolid  (or 
birthday  celebration)  of  their  particular  saint,  they  hold 
a  fantasia,  at  which  marvels  of  pluck  and  skill  are  ex- 
hibited by  famous  nomad  riders  from  all  parts  of  Egypt. 

I  have  seen  one  of  these  desert  fantasias,  and  the 
marvels  of  riding  by  the  Arab  horsemen.  The  great 
feature  is  the  perfect  sympathy  there  is  between  the 
rider  and  his  horse,  so  perfect  that  the  man  and  his 
beast  seem  to  have  but  one  thought  and  one  impulse. 
These  Arab  horses,  as  a  great  horseman  has  remarked, 
have  a  delicacy  not  so  much  of  mouth,  for  it  is  a  common 
thing  to  ride  them  without  bit  or  bridle,  but  of  feeling 
of  obedience  to  the  knee  and  thigh,  to  slightest  check 
of  the  halter  and  the  voice  of  the  rider,  far  surpassing 
whatever  the  most  elaborate  manege  gives  a  European 
horse,  though  furnished  with  snaffle,  curb,  and  all. 

The  children  are  charming,  in  no  way  shy,  though 
gentle  as  fawns.  One  beautiful  little  boy  of  about 
five  sidled  up  to  me  and  took  my  hand — a  dear  silent 
little  man  with  eyes  of  the  desert  gazelle — an  orphan, 
they  told  me,  and  the  charge  of  a  family  in  no  way 
related  to  him. 

"  Might  I  steal  him  and  take  him  to  England  ?  " 
^'  Yes,"  said  the  sheikh;  "it  would  be  an  act  acceptable 
to  God,  to  educate  a  poor  orphan.     But  you  must  give 
an  English  promise  not  to  change  his  religion  !  " 

By  this  time — for  labour  in  the  village  and  fields 
had  ended  with  the  setting  sun — almost  all  the  inhabitants 
were  gathered,  and  were  taking  furtive  glances  at  us, 
their  courtesy  so  superior  to  their  curiosity,  however, 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     49 

that  they  were  never  obtrusive.  At  last  one  man  did 
approach  the  sheikh,  and  in  a  quiet  voice  asked  if  he 
thought  we  objected  to  the  people  walking  with  us. 
"  Of  course  not."  The  chief  humorously  told  him 
that,  as  we  had  come  to  see  them,  he  was  sure  we  should 
not  object  to  their  looking  at  us  ! 

Now  it  became  dark,  but  for  the  light  of  the 
moon,  which  soon  shone  brilliantly  with  a  lustre  peculiar 
to  the  Eastern  sky.  We  had  arrived  at  the  front  of 
the  chief's  house,  where  a  number  of  the  very  fine  tent 
cloths  were  brought  for  our  inspection.  They  are  of 
amazing  strength  and  durability,  and  are  waterproof 
by  the  natural  quality  of  the  camel's  hair  of  which  they 
are  made.  The  tone  of  colour  is  produced  by  a  com- 
bination of  black  and  brown  with  dark  red,  some  of 
the  cloths  having  white  strips  in  the  place  of  the 
black. 

The  cloths  were  now  spread  on  the  sand,  and  we 
squatted  there  with  the  sheikh  and  his  immediate 
friends,  while  at  a  short  distance  round  about  sat 
groups  of  the  men  and  children  of  the  village,  to  the 
number  of  from  one  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty, 
quietly  observing  and  discussing  us.  From  group  to 
group  the  little  children  trotted,  two  or  three  finding 
their  way,  from  the  arms  of  the  sheikh,  who  was  evidently 
a  father  to  them  all,  on  to  my  knees. 

Coffee  appeared,  and  the  chief  repeated  to  us  all 
the  compliments  with  which  he  had  greeted  us,  in 
poetic  language,  which  made  us  ashamed  of  the  poor 
prose  of  our  response. 

The  whole  scene  was  deeply  impressive,  unforget- 
table— for  the  spell  of  that  Egyptian  moon  over  it  all 
was  pure  magic,  possessing  power  to  transport  us  from 
4 


So          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  prosaic  world  to  a  fairy  realm — an  Arabian  night 
indeed. 

At  last  the  moment  came  to  depart,  for  we  had  been 
obliged  to  resist  all  the  pressure  put  upon  us  to  stay  till 
after  the  night  prayer  and  partake  of  a  feast.  But  we 
had  promised  to  be  home  in  time  for  dinner.  Before  I 
got  up,  I  felt  in  my  pocket  for  some  half-piastres  (an 
Egyptian  coin  worth  a  penny-farthing)  for  the  small 
children.  I  gave  in  all  about  five  of  these  small  coins. 
It  was  a  faux  pas  on  my  part,  which  could  be  instantly 
felt.  One  or  two  grave  men  went  quietly  behind  the 
sheikh  to  speak  something  in  his  ear.  Superstition  told 
us,  from  the  dead  silence  which  ensued,  that  armies  were 
walking  over  our  graves  !  Then  I  asked — 

"  What  is  it  ?     What  is  wrong  ?  " 

"  Sir,  the  men  think  it  is  a  little  shameful  to  give 
money  to  the  children  !  " 

"  Why  ?  Surely  I  may  be  permitted  to  give  pleasure 
to  the  little  ones  !  " 

"  But  it  puts  wrong  thoughts  into  their  heads !  " 

I  pleaded  that  it  was  the  English  custom.  Remem- 
brance of  Arab  pride  came  into  my  mind  ;  these  men 
were  thinking  I  had  given  these  small  gifts  because 
I  thought  they  were  needed. 

"It  is  for  nothing  but  for  the  children  to  buy  sweet 
things !  " 

This  settled  the  matter;  the  amour  fropre  was  restored, 
and  we  all  smiled  benevolently  upon  each  other  again. 

An  incident  like  this  shows  how  unjust  the  "  bach- 
sheesh  "  charge  is  when  it  is  spread  over  the  whole  people 
of  Egypt.  The  disease  was  created  by  Europeans,  as  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  it  is  unknown  away  from  the 
track  which  the  tourist  has  beaten.  It  is  obvious  how 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      51 

deeply  these  men  felt  a  matter  when  they  could  make  a 
protest  to  one  of  the  rare  guests  of  their  village,  to  whom 
they  had  shown  every  consideration,  and  offered  all  they 
possessed. 

Now  we  mounted  ;  made  many  adieus  ;  received 
many  benedictions,  and — so  that  the  Arabian  night 
should  not  yet  be  closed — found  that  we  were  to  be 
accompanied  to  the  boundary  of  our  own  parish  by  a 
mounted  escort,  ostentatiously  armed  with  guns  !  I 
need  not  say  how  enjoyable  the  ride  home  in  the  moon- 
light proved  to  be. 

One  morning  of  our  stay,  knowing  that  I  desired 
to  see  one  of  the  chicken-rearing  houses  peculiar  to 
Egypt,  our  host  took  us  to  a  neighbouring  village,  where 
the  establishment  of  a  certain  Copt  makes  the  place  a 
centre  of  a  large  neighbourhood  for  this  industry.  The 
hatching  of  eggs  by  artificial  heat  has  been  an  art  for 
which  Egypt  has  been  famous  from  remotest  antiquity, 
and  in  which,  to  this  day,  it  is  the  Copt,  the  descendant 
of  the  ancient  Egyptian — and  not  the  Arab — who  shows 
amazing  skill. 

The  incubating  house  we  visited  was  a  long,  low 
chamber,  with  ten  ovens,  five  on  each  side,  with  a  three- 
foot  passage  between  them,  running  from  one  end  of  the 
room  to  the  other,  each  oven  being  capable  of  taking 
four  thousand  eggs.  The  oven  is  on  the  level  of  the 
floor,  and  the  fire  chamber  is  above  it,  with  its  primitive 
chimney  going  straight  out  of  the  roof. 

The  business  is  conducted  in  Upper  Egypt  in  the 
following  way  :  At  a  given  time,  which  is  made  known 
far  and  near,  people  bring  their  eggs,  which  the  owner 
of  the  oven  buys  outright  for  money. 

The  general  heat  maintained  in  the  oven  during  the 


52          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

process  of  incubation  is  from  100°  to  103°  Fahrenheit. 
Lane  speaks  of  the  operator  knowing  by  instinct  the 
exact  temperature  required  for  success  without  having 
any  instrument  like  a  thermometer  to  guide  him.  This 
man  informed  me  that  it  is  by  putting  one  of  the  eggs 
into  his  eye-socket  that  he  judges  of  the  temperature. 
For  forty  days  the  operator  practically  lives  night  and 
day  in  his  sealed  house — even  the  chimneys  are  only 
opened  occasionally  to  let  out  the  smoke. 

The  Copts  are  not  famous  for  instincts  of  cleanliness 
and  order.  My  wonder  was  that  the  Pharonic  dirt  and 
cobwebs  in  this  hatching  chamber  did  not  smother  the 
owner ;  the  heat,  I  was  sure,  could  not  compete  with 
them  in  the  process.  Our  visit,  however,  cleared  a  low 
tunnel  through  the  gauzy  festoons  of  filth,  for  although 
we  tried  to  avoid  a  great  part  of  it  by  walking  almost 
on  all  fours,  we  were  still  covered  with  a  cobweb-gar- 
ment when  we  had  regained  the  wholesome  sunlight. 

The  eggs  are  first  put  into  the  ovens,  and  the  fire 
above  is  lighted,  great  care  being  necessary  in  the  tending 
of  the  fires.  After  fifteen  days  a  careful  examination  is 
made  of  the  eggs.  By  this  time  the  fires  have  been 
allowed  to  die  down,  and  the  fertile  eggs  are  laid  in  the 
warm  ashes  to  complete  the  hatching  process. 

While  the  owner  is  imprisoned  in  the  chamber,  his 
son  (or  other  partner)  is  making  a  tour  of  all  the  villages 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  going  from  house  to  house, 
asking  if  the  women  wish  to  take  chickens — and  if  so, 
how  many — on  the  understanding  that  they  rear  them, 
and  return  to  him  twenty  full-grown  fowls  for  every 
hundred  chickens  received.  The  cottager  takes  all 
risks,  and  failing  the  production  of  the  proper  number  of 
fowls,  must  pay  the  twenty  per  cent,  in  money,  estimated 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     53 

at  the  market  price  of  fowls  at  the  time.  The  incubating 
merchant  sells  his  fowls  to  the  rich  houses,  where  there 
is  always  a  large  daily  consumption,  or  sends  them  to  the 
cities.  It  is  a  serious  thing  to  differ  from  Lane  in  any 
particular,  but  no  one  in  this  village  knew  anything  of 
the  methods  he  describes.  For  instance,  he  says  the 
owner  of  the  oven  pays  nothing  for  the  eggs  in  money, 
but  returns  one  chicken  for  every  two  eggs  he  takes. 
The  difference,  I  imagine,  may  be  between  the  customs 
of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt.  Near  Cairo  I  found  that 
the  owner  of  the  ovens  sells  the  chickens  outright  to 
those  who  rear  them  ;  or  in  some  cases  there  is  a  middle- 
man who  buys  all  the  chickens  outright  from  certain 
ovens  and  himself  arranges  the  farming  of  them  out  for 
rearing. 

On  another  evening  of  our  stay  my  young  friend  and 
I  slipped  away  from  the  general  company  in  our  house  to 
sit  with  the  peasants  of  the  village  in  the  lowly  cafe. 
Here,  it  must  be  said,  the  talk  was  coarse,  with  many 
oaths,  and  the  stories  told  were  gross  and  indelicate, 
while  there  was  not  a  suggestion  that  anyone  was 
conscious  of  a  level  of  decency  which  for  the  time  being 
they  were  setting  at  defiance.  In  no  country,  of  course, 
does  one  go  to  the  taproom  of  the  village  inn  for  choice 
conversation. 

The  owner  of  the  place  was  certainly  not  growing 
rich  on  what  his  customers  consumed,  for  some  of  the 
gentlemen  present  seemed  not  to  be  even  aware  of  "  the 
good  of  the  house,"  which  in  the  village  inn  must  not  be 
lost  sight  of,  even  though  it  does  not  go  beyond  the  pot 
of  "  four  'alf."  The  tiny  cup  of  coffee,  paid  for  in  a 
coin  of  such  small  value  that  travellers  never  see  itr  as 
they  are  supposed  to  have  no  use  for  it ;  whiffs  at  a 


54          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

hubble-bubble  pipe  passed  round  the  circle  ;    this  was 
the  extent  of  their  patronage  of  "  mine  host." 

The  talk  was  very  vivacious,  for  even  the  gross 
humours  were  touched  with  that  imaginativeness  which 
gives  a  glow  to  Oriental  speech,  while  the  constant  play 
upon  words,  and  the  whimsical  conceit,  give  the  humour 
of  the  peasant  that  faculty  of  sometimes  producing  an 
explosive  climax,  which  is  very  laughter-compelling. 
For  the  rest,  their  conversation  over  their  cups — of 
coffee — is  much  the  same  as  that  of  land-labourers  of 
the  same  class  of  any  country — the  crops,  the  master, 
the  coming  moolid,  who  is  going  or  returning  from 
Mecca,  the  exact  sum  of  money,  to  a  milliem,  and  the 
exact  amount  of  land,  to  a  yard,  possessed  by  this  and 
that  neighbour — this  they  always  know — the  best 
sheikh  to  apply  to  for  charms  for  this  and  that  purpose. 
Always  with  this  difference  in  the  talk  from  that  of 
northern  labourers,  that  the  weather,  in  Egypt,  needs 
no  discussion. 

The  place  of  the  weather  in  conversation  is  taken 
by  that  first  of  all  topics,  the  river  Nile,  for  which  the 
fellah  naturally  has  a  deep  veneration.  They  tell 
singular  things  of  sub-fluvial  affairs,  and  know  the 
precise  situations  of  the  cities  of  many  of  the  fairy 
realms  in  the  depths  of  the  water.  The  King  of 
Fishes  holds  his  Court  in  one  place  ;  the  King  of  the 
Crocodiles  in  another  ;  whilst  near  the  Rosetta  mouth 
is  the  liquid  realm  of  the  mermen,  who  now  and  then 
manage  to  catch  from  above  a  human  being,  whom 
they  place  on  show  in  a  cage,  carefully  pointing  out  to 
the  grinning  mermen  who  crowd  to  see  the  latest  wonder, 
that  the  strange  animal  has  got  no  tail  !  The  Egyptian 
Arabs  believe  that  all  the  insects  and  reptiles  were 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      55 

produced  at  the  Creation  from  the  mud  of  the  Nile, 
and  that  man  himself,  under  the  hand  of  the  Almighty 
Artist,  developed  into  beauty  and  life  from  the  same 
material. 

At  the  season  of  inundation,  naturally,  the  talk 
will  be  all  of  the  rising  flood,  which,  however,  is  not  now 
such  a  matter  of  speculation  as  formerly,  for  the  mayor 
even  of  this  small  village  is  actually  connected  by 
telephone  with  the  centres  of  information,  and  the 
daily  bulletins  of  the  river  reach  him.  The  theory  of 
the  rising  of  the  Nile,  which  has  been  held  possibly 
for  thousands  of  years,  is  in  no  way  disturbed  by 
such  modern  invention.  About  Midsummer — on  "  the 
Night  of  the  Drop  " — a  drop  of  dew  of  magic  power 
is  created  in  heaven  and  is  put  into  the  Nile,  to  cause 
the  blessed  swelling  of  the  waters.  Many  of  the  simple 
people  watch  for  this  divine  miracle,  and,  of  course, 
many  are  convinced  that  they  have  seen  the  magic 
drop,  like  a  falling  star,  dart  into  the  southern  part 
of  the  river. 

Weather  or  no  weather  to  be  discussed,  it  can  be 
seen  that  the  talk  of  the  village  cafe  need  not  flag  for 
want  of  topics  of  vital  interest  to  the  community. 

On  the  way  home,  my  friend  and  I  discussed  the 
question  of  the  introduction  of  strong  drink  into 
the  villages.  There  are  scoundrels — mostly  Greek  or 
Italian — always  going  about  in  the  country  seeking  an 
opening  to  spread  the  ruin  and  shame  which  follows  the 
institution  of  a  drink-shop.  But  for  the  sturdy  influence 
of  our  host's  family,  there  would  have  been  one  of  these 
little  hells  established  here  long  since. 

Every  traveller — to  the  most  casual — must  know 
how  the  whisky-bottle  is  flaunted  in  what  is  always 


56          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  most  prosperous-looking  shop  of  nearly  every 
village,  as  far  south  as  Khartoum.  The  fellah,  if  he 
gets  a  taste  for  strong  drink — forbidden  in  his  religion, 
he  has  no  hereditary  preparation  for  its  ravages — hastens 
on  the  downward  path,  and  will  pledge  and  mortgage 
everything  he  possesses  for  it.  It  is  the  grog-seller, 
too,  who  lies  in  wait  for  his  own  victims  in  the  double 
guise  of  pawnbroker  and  the  landgrabber.  Incredible 
stories  are  told  of  fortunes  made  in  this  way  by  men 
who  landed  at  Alexandria  from  Europe  with  nothing 
more  than  a  chestnut  brazier  as  stock  in  trade,  and 
now  are  become  magnates  in  Cairo. 

Is  no  protection  possible  from  the  Government  ? 
The  whisky  advertisements  with  which  Egypt  and  the 
Soudan  are  disfigured  are  a  reproach  to  our  British 
name.  All  the  well-known  firms  seem  to  be  con- 
centrating on  forcing  a  market  for  their  wares  in  this 
region.  I  came  across  the  track  of  their  "  travellers  " 
in  every  place.  There  is  no  official  ignorance  to  cover 
the  failure  to  act  in  this  matter.  Lord  Cromer  stated 
in  his  great  book  on  Egypt  that  "  it  is  the  low-class 
Greek  who  undermines  that  moral  quality  of  which 
the  Moslem,  when  untainted  by  European  association, 
has  in  some  degree  a  speciality/'  That  quality  is  sobriety." 

We  do  not  stay  out  late  in  the  country,  for  (apart 
from  the  fear  of  ginn)  these  young  men  and  youths 
must  rise  early.  With  our  own  English  morning 
habits  we  hear,  as  we  lie  in  bed,  while  it  is  still  quite 
dark,  the  call  to  prayer  from  the  minaret  of  the  mosque 
near  by,  and  know  that  it  is  the  signal  for  all  men  of 
toil,  or  of  Moslem  piety,  to  arise. 

During  all  my  stay  in  the  village  I  never  once 
crossed  the  threshold  of  the  great  house  in  which  my 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     57 

host  and  his  family  reside.  I  saw  the  children  of  the 
two  brothers  who  are  married,  but  I  never  saw  their 
wives,  although  I  have  no  doubt  that  from  the  many 
windows  of  the  'hareem  there  were  no  comings  and 
goings  from  our  house  which  were  not  closely  observed. 
My  wife  visited  the  ladies  in  the  hareem,  and  found 
them  bright  and  full  of  interest  in  life  ;  they  have  the 
care  of  the  house  and  the  children,  they  are  skilled  in 
needlework,  and  at  times  there  is  much  visiting  and 
receiving  of  friends  from  neighbouring  villages.  They 
observe  the  prayers,  and  receive  visits  from  a  venerable 
sheikh,  who  instructs  them  in  matters  of  religion. 
Like  all  Egyptian  ladies  of  rank,  they  take  great  pride 
in  their  jewels.  And  a  woman's  practised  eye  judged 
their  indoor  costumes  to  betray  a  fashionable  cut  that 
spells  expense  in  Cairo. 


CHAPTER   V 

"  How  you  would  love  the  Arab  women  in  the  country  villages  .  .  . 
such  sweet,  graceful  beings,  all  smiles  and  grace.  ...  It  is  the  true 
poetical  pastoral  life  of  the  Bible  in  the  villages  where  the  English  have 
not  been." 

Lady  Duff  Gordon,  Letters  from  Egypt,  pp.  35-36. 

I  SAW,  of  course,  a  good  deal  of  the  life  of  the  poor 
womenfolk  of  the  fellaheen.  The  fellaha  is  hard 
worked,  for  in  addition  to  bearing  and  nurturing  the 
many  children — which  are  so  ardently  desired  and 
prayed  for  in  all  parts  of  Egypt — she  cooks  the  frugal 
meals,  grinds  the  corn,  and  makes  the  bread.  She 
takes  a  sensible  part  in  the  work  of  the  fields,  and,  above 
all,  is  the  household  water-carrier  from  the  river  or  canal. 
It  is  she  who  beats  the  millet  and  the  maize  from 
the  sheath,  to  turn  it  into  the  coarse  cakes  which  form 
so  great  a  part  of  the  family  diet.  To  the  Arab  Moslem 
bread  is  sacred,  and  must  not  be  wasted.  Even  crumbs 
are  taken  up.  Wheaten  bread  is  not  for  the  likes  of 
the  fellaheen.  Meat  they  rarely  have,  except  on  the 
great  feast  days,  when  mutton  is  a  necessity,  to  get 
which  stint  and  economy  is  practised  for  half  a  year. 
Occasionally  a  little  fish  is  brought  from  the  Nile, 
which  is  quite  good.  They  have  a  fowl  now  and  then, 
stewed  in  the  pot,  with  rice,  which  is  eaten  very  fre- 
quently. The  tiny  eggs  of  Egypt  are  boiled  hard,  to 
be  eaten  with  a  chunk  of  hard  bread ;  if  a  small  piece 
of  the  soft  white  cheese  can  be  added,  and  a  radish, 

it  is  a  meal  fit  for  a  Pasha. 

58 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      59 

The  fellaha  is  accomplished  in  producing  the  most 
fragrant  and  appetising  messes  of  beans  and  lentils  with 
herbs  ;  for  the  Arab  love  of  pungent  flavouring  is  only 
equalled  by  his  passion  for  scents.  As  he  has  no  name 
for  scentless  flowers,  so  he  ignores  all  green  things  that 
are  wanting  in  a  distinct  flavour.  In  all  classes  certain 
vegetables  are  eaten  raw ;  at  a  great  banquet,  for 
instance,  large  white  radishes  will  be  offered  you,  and 
it  will  be  thought  peculiar  that  you  eat  the  radish  in 
preference  to  the  long  green  leaves  ! 

The  fellaheen  eat  radishes  very  largely,  as  their 
remotest  ancestors  must  have  done  ;  in  the  food  accounts 
of  the  slaves  who  laboured  on  the  Pyramids,  found  a 
few  years  since,  one  of  the  chief  items  was  for  radishes. 

Small  cucumbers  are  cooked  as  a  vegetable  ;  but 
above  all  green  things  the  Egyptian  dotes  on  bamyia, 
a  small  rough  kind  of  vegetable,  shaped  like  a  finger, 
which,  to  cheat  the  seasons,  is  even  dried  until  it  looks 
like  a  yellow  bead,  and  then  threaded.  The  native 
greengrocer  shops  have  quantities  of  these  strings  of 
dried  bamyia  hung  up  outside.  I  was  not  surprised 
when  a  lady  appeared  at  dinner,  in  Shepheard's  Hotel, 
in  Cairo,  last  winter,  wearing  one  of  these  strings  of 
bamyia  as  a  necklace — she  thought  she  had  found  a 
purely  native  article  of  adornment,  which  was  "  so 
quaint  and  Oriental."  The  Egyptian  student  in  Eng- 
land hungers  for  bamyia — I  know  those  who  even  have 
supplies  sent  from  home.  The  onion  (and  garlic,  to 
a  lesser  degree)  are  much  appreciated,  though  many 
Moslems,  thinking  of  the  Prophet's  detestation  of  the 
smell  of  them,  will  only  eat  them  when  they  can  be 
sure  of  washing  mouth  and  hands  at  once,  especially 
if  prayer-time  be  near  ;  they  believe  the  odour  will 


60          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

cause  the  guardian  angels  to  stay  at  a  distance  from 
them,  and  thus  they  would  lose  their  good  offices.  The 
turnip  they  often  eat  raw,  as  also  that  so-called  tomato, 
which,  with  its  greenness  and  thick  skin,  is  a  disgrace 
to  this  fertile  land  :  I  never  saw  a  really  luscious  tomato 
in  Egypt  or  the  Soudan. 

Sugar-cane  they  chew  and  suck  at  every  opportunity  : 
nature  seems  to  have  produced  a  craving  for  this  food, 
only  to  be  eaten  with  such  labour  as  makes  the  unac- 
customed jaw  ache  to  distraction — a  craving  which  will 
lead  the  most  cultured  Egyptian  occasionally  to  indulge 
himself,  though,  like  the  ladies  of  Cranford  with  an 
orange,  gentility  requires  strict  privacy  for  the  inelegant 
operation. 

The  water-melon  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the 
chief  blessings  of  Allah  for  the  hot  season  ;  its  secrets 
of  cool  refreshment  are  one  of  the  miracles  of  nature. 
Dates  as  a  luxury  hold  the  first  place — and  the  children 
contend  for  the  privilege  of  sucking  the  stones ;  when 
the  dates  become  dried  as  hard  as  marbles  they  are  still 
sought  after. 

Like  the  Jews,  the  Moslems  refrain  from  things 
strangled  and  from  blood.  Meat  and  game,  to  be 
acceptable,  must  have  the  right  formula  pronounced 
over  it  at  the  slaying — even  when  it  is  the  victim  of 
sport  of  gun  or  rod  ;  and  it  must  be  eaten  on  the  day 
of  slaughter,  heedless  of  resulting  toughness,  which,  to 
alien  digestion,  is  one  of  the  chief  trials  of  a  stay  with 
native  folk.  Though  vegetable  is  sometimes  eaten  raw, 
meat  of  all  kinds  must  always  be  well  cooked.  Our 
English  idea  of  redness  necessary  in  roast  beef  is  so  re- 
pugnant to  Egyptian  ideas  that  a  young  friend  of  mine, 
keeping  the  fast  of  Rhamadan  last  summer  in  London, 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     61 

went  to  bed  with  his  fast  practically  unbroken  from  the 
previous  night  rather  than  taste  the  underdone  beef 
offered  him  for  dinner  in  a  Bloomsbury  'pension^  the 
apple  tart  which  followed  being  equally  distasteful  to 
him. 

The  fellaha  is,  like  most  other  village  women,  a  great 
gossip — an  indulgence  which  is  one  of  those  gildings  of 
the  bitter  pill  of  life,  according  to  the  kindly  precept  of 
old  Samuel  Johnson,  which  are  to  be  regarded  compla- 
cently. She  says  her  prayers  privately,  and  longs  for 
the  Pilgrimage,  or  at  least  to  touch  the  Mahmal  in 
Cairo,  or  to  pray  at  a  great  saint's  tomb  there,  as  much 
as  does  her  husband.  To  think  the  contrary  of  all  this 
is  the  almost  universal  error  of  Christian  critics  of  Islam. 

Occasionally  she  seeks  the  spiritual  advice  of  an 
aged  sheikh,  perhaps  some  miles  away,  and  from  him  gets 
amulets  and  little  leather  satchels  to  string  upon  herself 
and  her  children,  in  which  are  enclosed  verses  from  the 
Holy  Koran  known  to  be  potent  against  the  Evil  Eye, 
the  ginn,  and  the  devices  of  the  devil  by  day  and  by 
night. 

She  knows  that  her  husband  is  her  rightful  master, 
for  the  Koran  tells  her,  with  its  divine  authority,  that 
man's  natural  qualities  exalt  him  "  a  step  above  "  the 
woman,  giving  him  permission  to  chastise  her  if  she  is 
disobedient.  As  a  rule,  her  husband  is  affectionate  to 
her  and  the  children,  and  on  his  part  remembers  the 
constant  injunction  of  the  Koran  to  treat  his  wife  with 
"  love  and  tenderness — one  of  the  true  signs  of  God  " 
(Sura  xxx.  20). 

Her  chief  dread — perhaps  more  than  divorce — is 
that  a  second  wife  may  be  brought  into  the  household. 
Polygamy  is  rare  in  Egypt.  The  census  shows,  for  one 


62          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

thing,  that  the  population  of  Egypt  is  almost  equally 
divided  between  male  and  female.  Indeed,  it  is  almost 
solely  among  the  fellaheen  that  polygamy  survives, 
the  motive  generally  being  to  increase  a  man's  progeny, 
with  its  chances  of  wage-earning  in  the  fields,  as  a 
means  of  keeping  off  the  wolf  which  here  growls  too 
often  very  close  to  the  poor  man's  door. 

She  is  generally  an  obedient  and  willing  helpmate 
to  her  lord,  training  her  children  to  join  her  in  paying 
him  the  deference  which  the  Eastern  father  receives  in 
the  home. 

For  some  strange  reason,  however,  the  old  widow 
women  often  develop  into  dreadful  shrews,  who  seem, 
as  a  pastime,  to  seek  to  stir  up  village  brawls.  Their 
power  to  screech  provocative  insults  at  all  and  sundry 
is  amazing.  As  a  rule,  there  is  a  kind  of  understanding 
amongst  the  men  that  the  ancient  shrew  has  some  sort 
of  privilege  which  guards  her  from  the  suppression 
which  would  be  exerted  over  a  younger  woman. 

Without  education,  except  that  gained  in  the  kuttab 
(or  Koran  school),  a  little  laborious  writing  and  reading, 
some  memorising  of  their  holy  writ,  the  fellah  boy  is 
early  set  to  work.  Gradually,  however,  the  scope  of 
education  is  being  widened  in  Egypt.  I  have  visited 
some  excellent  village  schools  which  carry  education  far 
beyond  that  of  the  kuttab.  The  fellah  is  lowly  in  mind, 
and  never  questions  his  lot,  for  he  thinks  God  ordained 
it.  He  is  as  simple  as  a  child,  with  a  liability  to  the 
child's  gusts  of  passion  and  capacity  for  heartrend- 
ing grief.  He  worships  goodness  in  others  when  he 
finds  it,  and  has  some  really  fine  instincts  of  love  and 
devotion  to  those  whom  God  has  set  over  him,  if  they 
show  any  sort  of  interest  in  his  well-being.  That  his 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     63 

desires  are  limited  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  can  find 
happiness  in  his  infinitesimal  means.  The  natural 
dignity  of  man  rarely  deserts  him,  and  clothes  him  with 
a  winning  and  saving  grace ;  it  is  nurtured  by  his  religion, 
which  teaches  him,  through  that  constant  link  with 
heaven,  maintained  by  the  guardian  angels  who  are 
always  by  his  side,  a  self-respect  sometimes  merging  into 
a  pride  that  is  a  little  repellent  to  men  of  other  creeds, 
who  come  into  contact  with  him  without  caring  to 
understand  or  sympathise. 

It  is  difficult  for  some  people  to  realise  that  the 
fellah  is  not  a  barbarian  or  a  savage,  or  even  a  blood- 
thirsty fanatic,  lying  in  wait  to  ferociously  demand  the 
protestation  of  his  faith  at  the  end  of  a  dagger.  Solici- 
tous relatives  of  my  own,  knowing  that  I  have  a  pre- 
dilection for  remote  village  life  in  Moslem  lands,  judging 
from  what  they  have  heard  from  other  travellers — "  as  a 
fact,"  of  course — have  warned  me  against  such  imaginary 
ogres  who  lie  in  wait  for  Christians  with  the  Koran  in 
one  hand  and  a  raised  sword  in  the  other. 

The  dark  and  fusty  hovels  in  which  the  poor  live,  the 
soil-stained,  trailing  garments  of  the  women — who  of 
all  misfortunes  to  their  personal  appearance  are  con- 
demned to  wear  black  in  a  country  where  one  of  the 
plagues  is  dust — the  primitive  ideas,  as  old  as  the  early 
scriptural  injunctions  in  matters  sanitary,  lead  the 
fastidious  European  to  label  these  people  as  creatures 
degraded  by  filth. 

In  this  matter  a  fair  judgment  cannot  be  made  from 
outward  appearances.  Let  the  habits  of  bodily  washing 
of  the  labouring  classes  of  any  of  the  nations  which 
supply  these  critics  be  compared  with  those  of  Moslem 
folk,  bound  (men  and  women)  by  the  ablutions  which 


64          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

precede  their  prayers,  with  some  just  allowance  for  lack 
of  advance  in  other  matters,  and  I  think  the  balance  will 
be  in  favour  of  the  fellaheen. 

I  dislike  such  crude  comparisons,  but  I  cannot  forget 
that  a  doctor  at  one  of  the  London  hospitals  once  told 
me  he  found  that  the  majority  of  the  poorer  patients  had 
never  been  washed  over  the  whole  of  their  bodies  for 
years,  some  from  babyhood.  Could  anything  more 
perfectly  ensure  bodily  cleanliness,  than  the  daily  wash- 
ing of  parts  of,  and  the  weekly  ablution  of  the  whole 
human  frame,  demanded  by  the  Islamic  religion.  Of 
the  feet  alone  the  daily  washing  must  particularly  reach 
between  every  toe. 

Objectionable  insects  thrive  in  such  a  climate  ;  even 
in  Cairo,  as  a  doctor  friend  of  mine  humorously  re- 
marked, the  "  fulex  irritans  is  entitled  to  even  official 
recognition  about  the  middle  of  April " ;  and  indeed 
there  is  warrant  for  the  unbroken  heritage  of  all  the 
insect  "  plagues  of  Egypt.'* 

But  lest  in  this  matter  I  should  be  thought  unduly 
lenient,  I  will  fall  back  upon  a  quotation  from  the  words 
of  the  same  keen  observer  of  the  poor  labourer  of  the 
Nile  valley  whom  I  have  previously  mentioned. 

"  Clean  poverty  and  healthy  misery  are  not  to  be  met 
with  every  day,  either  in  Egypt  or  elsewhere.  A  starving 
bird  neglects  to  polish  his  feathers,  and  a  famished  dog 
has  a  ragged  coat.  However,  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  fellah  is  a  disgusting  animal.  With  the  greatest 
respect  for  suffering,  wherever  it  may  be  found,  I  must 
say  that  Northern  poverty  is  far  more  repulsive  than 
Egyptian  ;  and  that  there  are  thousands  of  garrets  in 
England  infinitely  fuller  of  terrors  to  those  whose  senses 
enjoy  an  unjust  monopoly  of  refinement,  than  the  most 


Photo\ 


\_DittricJi,  Cairo. 


THE  DAILY  VISIT  OF  THE  WATER-CARRIER. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    65 

wretched  Arab  hovel.  .  .  .  And  the  wretchedest  fellah, 
in  his  normal  state  of  poverty,  if  not  a  more  respectable, 
is  a  more  approachable  being  than  the  outcast  of  Euro- 
pean civilisation." 

Beyond  the  slight  moral  teaching  gained  at  the 
kuttab — and  this  is  mostly  by  deduction  from  Koranic 
precepts,  and  the  advice  of  the  father,  which  counts 
for  more  perhaps  than  has  been  realised  by  Christian 
critics — the  deplorable  absence  of  training  for  the 
young  leads  one  to  wonder  how  any  degree  of  moral 
decency  is  attained.  As  someone  says :  "  God  knows 
their  goodness  is  all  their  own,  there  is  no  one  to  teach 
them." 

A  consciousness  of  the  need  of  moral  teaching  is 
spreading  in  Egypt,  however,  and  I  hope  a  proper 
care  of  the  youth  of  the  villages  may  be  the  outcome. 
When  I  think  of  the  social  club,  and  the  boy  scouts 
and  brigades,  the  Sunday  schools  and  the  night  classes, 
and  all  the  social  service  which  reaches  the  remotest 
hamlet  in  England,  I  wonder  what  it  is  that  saves  the 
Egyptian  boy,  in  any  degree,  from  perdition ;  and 
from  what  source  is  drawn  the  inspiration  of  that  real 
nobility  of  character,  so  often  found  in  the  older  Moslem 
men  ?  I  have  met  many  a  man  in  the  East  whose 
character  I  could  thoroughly  admire,  and  whose  advice 
I  valued  ;  and  who,  of  those  who  have  lived  there,  has 
not  had  the  same  experience  ? 

To  speak  of  the  moral  bankruptcy  of  Islam,  and  never 
to  suggest  that  a  solvent  soul  is  possible  to  it,  as  Mr. 
Zwemer  does  (in  Islam :  a  Challenge  to  Faith),  betrays 
bias  or  ignorance.  I  think  of  a  Christian  woman  who  in 
Egypt  became  almost  entirely  dependent  in  a  mortal 
illness  on  an  Arab  servant.  He  was  offered  every 
5 


66          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

inducement  to  leave  his  mistress,  even  the  dignity  of 
royal  service  with  our  Prince  of  Wales  (when  the  late 
King  Edward  was  visiting  Egypt),  with  pay  far  beyond 
his  mistress's  means.  This  is  what  she  wrote  of  him  : 
"  When  I  know,  as  I  now  do  thoroughly,  all  Omar's 
complete  integrity — without  any  sort  of  mention  of 
it — his  going  ragged  and  shabby  to  save  his  money  for 
his  wife  and  child  (a  very  great  trial  to  a  good-looking 
young  Arab),  and  the  equally  unostentatious  love  he 
has  shown  to  me,  and  the  delicacy  and  real  nobleness 
of  feeling  which  comes  out  so  oddly  in  the  midst  of 
sayings,  which  to  our  ideas  seem  very  shabby  and 
time-serving,  very  often  I  wonder  if  there  is  anything 
as  good  in  the  civilised  West." 

There  is  a  great  deal  in  the  religion  of  Islam  which 
teaches  consideration  for  .others,  and  leads  to  gentleness 
and  simplicity  of  conduct,  which,  with  a  remarkable 
absence  of  censoriousness,  produces  what  we  call 
gentlemen.  And  no  national  decadence,  or  falling 
behind  in  the  race  for  intellectual  and  material  attain- 
ment and  advantage,  has  obliterated  this.  The  men 
of  the  family  with  whom  we  are  staying,  in  the  culture 
of  mind  they  show  in  all  the  relationships  of  life — and 
I  speak  now  after  a  friendship  which  ripened  into  close 
intimacy — recalled  for  me  the  fine  qualities  which 
marked  the  early  Moslems. 

Here  was  a  father  and  five  sons,  living  together  in  a 
patriarchal  dignity,  the  father  ruling  with  a  firm  and 
wise  benevolence,  and  the  sons  filling  their  part  with 
filial  respect  and  affection,  all  conscious  of  their  duty 
to  their  dependants  and  their  neighbours,  following  a 
family  tradition  of  many  generations.  They  are  known 
as  men  faithful  to  their  word,  whatever  may  be  the 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    67 

cost,  and  equally  faithful  to  their  self-respect,  whatever 
the  inducements  to  depart  from  it.  The  Bey  would 
have  been  a  Pasha,  when  titles  were  on  sale,  if  he  had 
not  possessed  qualities  above  the  temptations  of  personal 
aggrandisement — in  the  East  a  sore  temptation  indeed. 
It  was  my  happiness  with  these  friends  to  bridge  the 
gulf  of  reticence  which  the  different  forms  of  Eastern 
and  Western  pride  create  to  separate  men  of  different 
races,  and  causes  them  to  misjudge  each  other  from 
across  the  gulf. 

The  relationship  between  the  father  and  his  sons  is 
one  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  Egyptian  life.  "  To 
please  your  father  is  to  please  God,  and  to  displease 
your  father  is  to  displease  God,"  said  Mohammed  ;  and 
the  teaching  is  taken  to  heart.  I  never  was  in  any 
family  where  the  sons,  of  whatever  age,  did  not  rise 
when  their  father  entered  a  room,  waiting  for  him  to 
be  seated  ;  an  air  of  respect  coming  over  them  which 
prevents  any  slackness  of  good  manners  in  his  presence. 
His  slightest  wish  is  a  law  obeyed  with  quiet  grace. 

The  youngest  son  of  this  particular  family  sits  by 
his  father's  side  at  meals,  and  waits  upon  him  as  a  most 
attentive  servant.  A  father  is  seldom  or  never  harsh 
to  his  sons ;  he  reasons  with  them  in  a  way  that  assumes 
intelligence,  and  a  perfect  desire  to  consider  his  wishes 
on  their  part.  An  undutiful  son  is  very  rare  amongst 
Moslems. 

The  deplorable  decline  of  respect  paid  to  the  aged  in 
Western  lands  has  no  echo  in  the  East.  "  Nothing  more 
greatly  surprises  the  European  traveller,"  Mr.  Stanley 
Lane-Poole  admits,  "  than  the  polite  and  gentleman- 
like manners  of  Egyptians  of  all  classes.  They  always 
do  the  right  thing  in  the  most  courteous,  graceful,  and 


68          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

self-possessed  manner,  and  intentional  rudeness  to  an 
older  man,  or  a  superior  in  rank,  is  almost  unknown." 

There  never  was  a  community  in  this  world,  I  imagine, 
without  its  scamp  and  its  "  ne'er-do-well."  This 
village  was  no  exception.  Sitting  in  the  mosque,  alone 
with  his  gloomy  thoughts,  was  an  old  man — I  saw  him 
daily — who  had  been,  only  a  few  days  before  our 
arrival,  the  unwitting  cause  of  one  of  those  crimes  of 
passion  so  common  in  the  East.  He  had  cuffed  a  small 
boy  for  some  fault ;  the  boy's  relatives — unfortunately 
most  of  them  the  family  of  a  rascal  who  all  his  days 
had  been  a  troubler  of  the  village  peace — resented  this. 
A  brawl  ensued,  and  in  the  deadly  rage  excited,  the 
scamp  had  fired  a  shot  which  landed  him  in  prison  on 
a  charge  of  murder. 

His  family,  a  generation  ago,  had  been  rich  and 
respected,  but  the  ne'er-do-well  proclivity,  with  a 
quarrelsome  love  of  litigation,  had  reduced  them  to  a 
strip  of  land  worth  only  a  pittance. 

Another  scamp,  an  ignorant  but  amiable  poltroon 
of  a  rogue,  cunning  enough  this  one  to  "  rise  in  the 
world,"  and  not  fall,  was  a  small  landowner  who  carried 
with  him  the  conscious  dignity  of  the  title  of  Bey. 
Quite  illiterate,  and  with  no  scruples  in  the  pursuit 
of  gain,  he  went  his  ignominious  way  for  many  years, 
reaping  the  satisfaction  with  life,  which  marked  him, 
from  a  secretly  increasing  pile  of  piastres,  and  caring 
nothing  for  the  contumely  of  men. 

There  came  a  day  when  the  palace  in  Cairo,  intent 
on  facilitating  commerce  in  titles,  practically  set  up  a 
shop  and  bagmen,  with  everything  marked  in  plain 
figures  at  prix  fixe.  The  Oriental  is  never  a  miser 
unless  he  is  contemplating  an  extravagant  coup.  This 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    69 

gentleman  had  seen  the  goods  of  the  royal  establish- 
ment, and  envied  the  "  wear  "  on  other  men.     During 
a   visit   to  the    capital   he    found    that   his   particular 
fancy  in  adornments  was  marked — during  the  time  of 
sale  only — as  low  as  ^300  !     He  went  in  and  proudly 
banged  the  price  upon  the  counter,  and  the  shopman, 
all  smiles,  informed  him  that  the  order  could  be  executed 
in  the  course  of  a  week.     As  a  matter  of  protective  form 
— Lord  Cromer  was  an  alert  tyrant,  and  was  known  to 
have  an  unreasoning  dislike  of  this  nice  shop  and  especi- 
ally of  the  gentlemen  who  were  allowed  to  appropriate 
the  profits — some  inquiry  was  made  as  to  the  customer's 
suitability  for  knighthood.     A  curt  reply  from  Upper 
Egypt  said — if  this  man  wished  even  to  be  called  effendi 
(gentleman)  he  would  disgrace  the  title.     With  what 
result  ?     Did  the  repcit  stop  the  sale  ?     Not  a  bit  of 
it ;    it  only  enhanced  the  price  of  the  purchase.     A 
mention  of  ^450,  a  peremptory  letter  to  the  gentleman 
of  the   "  effendi "   joke,   and  an   official   "  character  " 
was  supplied  to  Cairo  in  every  way  satisfactory  to  the 
shopkeeper.     Most  of  the  private  pile  of  piastres  dis- 
appeared, for  a  bauble  which  ever  since  has  been  a  daily 
satisfaction  to  a  saucy  rogue,  who  cares  nothing  that 
he  never  learnt  to  write  even  his  own  name. 

At  last  the  time  for  our  departure  arrived.  Omar 
assured  me  that  no  one  would  break  a  gullah  (water-jar) 
after  us,  and  that  our  house,  we  might  rest  assured, 
would  not  be  swept  for  three  days.  This  was  a  great 
compliment,  for  if  a  person  visits  you  in  Egypt,  whose 
return  you  do  not  desire,  you  speak  of  "  breaking  a 
gullah  after  him,"  and  when  you  are  very  much  in 
earnest  you  actually  break  a  jar.  To  sweep  away  the 
dust  of  his  feet,  in  less  than  three  days,  would  be  to 


70          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

remove  the  chance  of  seeing  your  guest  again ;  and  for 
the  same  reason  you  must  not  sweep  a  visitor's  rooms 
at  night. 

It  was  a  misty  morning  on  which,  having  made  our 
adieus  with  heartfelt  thanks  for  many  and  great  kind- 
nesses, our  little  cavalcade  returned  across  that  plain 
over  which  English  enterprise  and  skill  had  wrought 
such  beneficent  change.  In  a  mile  or  two  the  mist 
became  increased  until  the  particles  of  moisture  in  the 
air  clung  to  hair  and  clothes,  and  made  us  white,  re- 
minding the  Englishmen  of  a  mild,  "  muggy  "  morning 
at  home  in  early  winter. 

When  I  hear  of  the  weather  having  radically  changed 
in  the  British  Isles,  of  "  old-fashioned  Christmasses  " 
and  the  like,  I  recall  the  entries  in  old  diaries,  like  those 
of  Pepys  and  Evelyn,  which  soon  disprove  such  fallacies. 
Of  Egypt  it  is  often  asserted  that  the  climate  has  changed; 
the  fateful  British  occupation  is  responsible  even  for 
this,  with  its  irrigation  and  its  tree-planting.  But  the 
same  rule  applies  here — I  have  at  hand  a  diary  of  the 
days  of  Mohammed  AH  (he  died  in  1849),  and  mornings 
like  this  are  spoken  of  :  even  a  mist  at  the  Citadel, 
just  as  I  experienced  it,  in  the  early  morning  when  I 
went  to  photograph  the  Holy  Carpet  before  the  crowds 
assembled  to  see  it  start  for  Mecca.  It  was  a  curious 
sensation,  nevertheless,  in  a  land  to  which  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  antiquities  of  the  tombs  bears  witness  to  a 
marvellous  dryness,  to  travel,  as  we  did  that  morning, 
through  fifty  miles  of  mist  which  completely  veiled  the 
landscape. 

I  must  relate  an  episode  of  our  departure  from  the 
country  railway  station.  Naturally  I  gave  a  present  to 
the  servants,  who  had  worked  hard  and  faithfully,  and 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     71 

with  delightful  good  humour,  for  us  in  so  many  ways. 
It  was  with  hesitation  that  two  or  three  of  them  accepted 
the  money  :  when  I  reached  my  special  negro  attendant 
he  drew  back  with  every  sign  of  distress,  saying,  "  La  ! 
la  !  la  !  "  ("  No  !  no  !  no  !  ")  With  persistency  I  forced 
a  silver  coin  upon  him  ;  and  as  he  reluctantly  took  it, 
there  were  tears — of  shame,  I  found — in  his  eyes.  I 
asked  his  young  master  to  explain  that  it  is  the  English 
custom  to  offer  a  gift  to  those  who  have  served  us. 
He  accepted  the  explanation,  but  the  smiles  did  not 
return  to  his  face,  even  when  we  shook  hands  with 
him  from  the  carriage  window.  "  It  was  shameful  of 
him,"  he  told  Omar  again,  "  to  take  money  from  his 
master's  friend." 


CHAPTER   VI 

"  The  almost  miraculous  renaissance  in  Islam  which  is  now  pro- 
ceeding in  Turkey  and  in  other  Mohammedan  countries  reminds  one 
forcibly  of  Dante's  lines  : 

'For  I  have  seen 

The  thorn  frown  rudely  all  the  winter  long, 
And  after  bear  the  rose  upon  its  top.'  " 

Claud  Field,  Mystics  and  Saints  of  Islam,  p.  202. 

. 

How  few  people  know  anything  of  the  wonders  and  the 
treasures  that  are  hidden  off  the  narrow  streets  of  native 
Cairo — those  silent  ways  leading  to  no  bazaar,  or  even 
to  a  single  shop  to  attract  the  curious  from  the  paths 
so  well  trodden  by  the  dragoman  and  his  trusting 
victims.  And  yet  if  only  some  kindly  ginn  would  give 
you  the  right  key,  it  is  out  of  these  streets,  the  old 
residential  quarters  of  Prince  and  Pasha,  and  of  the 
religious  dignitary  wealthier  than  them  all,  that  the 
real  Oriental  splendour  of  Cairo  may  be  found. 

It  was  the  genii  of  friendship  that  put  the  key  into 
my  hand  which  enabled  me  to  break  out  of  the  dusty 
by-ways,  so  narrow  that  only  an  uneven  slit  of  sky 
could  be  seen  between  the  eaves  above,  into  gorgeous 
old  palaces,  with  wide  courtyards  and  spacious  gardens, 
richly  decorated  halls  and  chambers,  the  magnitude  and 
beauty  of  which  transport  one  into  the  days  that  were 
truly  golden  for  the  few  men  who  had  the  power  to 
possess  themselves  of  the  opulence  of  the  East. 

The  street  itself — it  is  seldom  more  than  ten  feet 
wide — is  certainly  forbidding,  as  it  was  meant  to  be, 


r 

J 


^  ••:' 


r 

fl 


::« 


Ph°t°\  [Lekegian,  Cairo. 

"THE  ONLY  TRACE  OF  GRACIOUSNESS  THE  PALACE  EVER  SHOWED  TO  THE 
OUTER  WORLD  OF  THE  STREET  WAS  THE  BEAUTIFUL  MASHRABIEH  WORK 
OF  THE  BAY  WINDOWS  AT  THE  TOP  OF  THE  HOUSE." 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    73 

for  the  one  object  in  the  days  when  these  houses  were 
built  was  privacy  ;  and  the  only  trace  of  graciousness 
the  palace  ever  showed  to  the  outer  world  of  the  street 
was  the  beautiful  mashrabieh  work  of  the  bay  windows 
at  the  top  of  the  house — an  invention,  as  everyone 
knows,  by  which  the  curiosity  of  the  ladies  of  the  hareem 
might  be  indulged  in  seeing  what  was  going  on  below, 
while  still  making  their  own  concealment  effectual. 

On  the  ground  floor  the  houses  offer  nothing  to 
the  street  but  a  massive  stone  wall,  with  a  square  hole 
at  intervals,  high  up  and  strongly  barred.  The 
gateway  is  sometimes  impressive,  with  groined  arches, 
though  it  only  serves  to  accentuate  the  prison-like  air. 
But  let  the  doors  be  opened — the  bowabs  and  the  black 
eunuchs  who  sit  on  the  bench  are  sure  to  suspect  your 
credentials,  unless  their  master  has  sent  his  special 
servant  to  await  you — and  you  are  at  once  in  a  sunny 
and  spacious  wor!3. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  ancient  palaces 
I  visited  is  that  of  the  historic  house  of  Sadat,  where  I 
was  most  courteously  received  by  the  Sheikh  Abdul 
Hamid  El-Bekri.  The  sheikh  is  the  chief  descendant 
in  Egypt  of  Abu  Bakr,  the.  Prophet's  devoted  friend, 
and  the  first  caliph  of  Islam. 

The  courtyard  is  more  than  usually  beautiful,  with 
a  noble  old  tree  and  some  exquisite  mashrabieh  work. 
We  were  received  in  the  salemlik,  a  hall  of  fine  propor- 
tions and  the  most  exquisite  ancient  decorations,  much 
of  the  wall  space  being  covered  with  precious  old 
Persian  tiles.  The  beauty  of  these  tiles,  which  are  so 
much  admired  in  any  place,  can  only  be  rightly  appreci- 
ated when  they  are  seen  in  the  subdued  light  of  a  hall 
such  as  this,  for  which  they  were  made,  with  decorations 


74          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

and  proportions  designed  by  the  artist  who  chose  them. 
I  have  heard  of  a  man  in  England  buying  and  demolishing 
an  old  house  to  possess  himself  of  all  its  ancient  oakwork  ; 
I  fancy  these  tiles,  so  rich  in  the  beauty  of  a  lost  art, 
would  far  eclipse  the  value  of  any  Cairene  palace  that 
contained  them. 

How  many  strange  and  wonderful  scenes  of  Oriental 
splendour,  as  well  as  of  horror,  have  taken  place  in  this 
palace.  Many  meetings  of  great  historical  importance 
have  been  held  here.  Napoleon  made  great  efforts  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  the  head  of  the  Sadat  family, 
who  was  at  first  decorated  with  the  Legion  of  Honour, 
and  then,  when  he  did  not  fall  into  line  with  the 
Emperor's  designs  on  Egypt,  was  bastinadoed.  This 
palace  was  the  scene  of  the  most  special  of  those  "  ziks," 
in  which  mystical  religious  zeal  developed  into  a  sort 
of  frenzy,  such  as  the  Western  mind  cannot  contemplate 
without  terror.  It  was  here  that  the  dervishes,  famous 
for  eating  live  serpents,  gave  their  chief  exhibitions, 
until  an  enlightened  head  of  the  house,  many  years 
since,  declared  the  thing  disgusting  and  contrary  to  the 
religion,  which  distinctly  says  that  snakes  are  unclean 
things  and  forbidden  as  food.  In  these  present  days, 
as  Professor  Margoliouth  says,  the  reformed  Islam  of 
Egypt  discourages  the  practices  whereby  the  Sufis 
endeavour  to  hypnotise  themselves,  viz.  dancing,  sing- 
ing, and  repetition  of  syllables  supposed  to  represent 
the  divine  name. 

\  As  the  sheikh's  family  was  away  he  took  us  through 
every  part  of  the  palace,  even  to  the  beautiful  hareem 
apartments,  the  chief  of  which  has  some  very  fine 
carving.  The  modern  note  obtruding  itself  on  the 
medieval  air  of  the  place  was  a  baby's  cot  of  Parisian 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    75 

make.  It  was  evident  that  the  most  cheerful  part  of 
the  house  was — as  is  often  the  case  in  these  palaces — 
given  over  to  the  ladies'  use.  Some  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  decorations  are  found  in  these  lofty 
rooms  and  balconies ;  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  air 
and  light. 

The  large  garden  too,  which  in  the  former  days 
must  have  been  a  most  delightful  resort,  was  nearly  all 
hareem  (the  word  only  means  reserved  or  private ;  the 
tramcars  have  hareem  compartments),  again  following 
the  same  custom.  The  sakieh  (water-wheel),  however, 
is  now  broken  and  silent,  its  song  being  ended,  and  the 
garden  falls,  like  the  palace,  into  disuse. 

It  is  not  permissible,  of  course,  to  discuss  the  opinions 
of  a  gentleman's  wife,  but  I  gathered  that  Egyptian 
ladies  of  the  highest  rank  are  finding  the  advantages  of 
the  new  houses  which  are  turning  Cairo  into  an  imita- 
tion Paris,  with  all  their  "  modern  conveniences  "  of 
electricity,  and  situated  where  friends  may  easily  pay 
their  visits.  A  garage  too  is  a  necessity  now,  for  hareem 
bounds  have  extended,  and  narrow  streets  may  no 
longer  cut  off  the  educated  Moslem  lady  of  to-day  from 
her  drives  to  Gizereh,  her  shopping  excursions, — the 
visits  to  the  jeweller  being  a  cherished  institution  with 
all  Eastern  ladies,  and  no  city  in  the  world  can  show 
finer  jewels  than  are  to  be  seen  in  the  shops  in  Cairo, — 
from  the  opera,  and  other  occupations  and  amusements. 
('When  the  Sheikh  El-Bekri  had  shown  me  all  the 
ramifications  of  the  beautiful  old  palace  of  his  family,  he 
kindly  invited  me  to  pay  him  a  visit,  later  on,  at  his 
modern  home. 

The  contrast  was  complete.  Out  of  medievalism 
one  stepped  into  the  twentieth-century  Paris,  or  rather, 


76          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

from  the  silent  fastnesses  of  a  feudal  castle,  which  was  a 
world  in  itself,  into  the  modern  home,  accessible  to  the 
haunts  of  men,  the  telephone  linking  it  to  every  modern 
interest  of  a  bustling  city. 

The  salemlik  becomes  a  drawing-room,  still  for  men 
only,  it  is  true,  and  with  an  entrance  separate  from  the 
hareem  ;  but  from  its  windows  I  saw  the  hareem  part  of 
the  family  starting  for  their  afternoon  drive — facts  to 
keep  in  mind  when  one  comes  to  consider  the  question 
of  the  position  of  the  Moslem  women  and  the  possibility 
of  their  social  and  moral  advance. 

Islam  has  travelled  far  since  the  Sheikh  Sayyed  Sadat 
of  that  day — to  whom  my  host  has  now  succeeded — 
rode  his  horse,  at  the  celebrations  of  the  Prophet's 
birthday,  over  the  prostrate  forms  of  men  who  believed 
his  noble  ancestry  gave  him  a  miraculous  power  which 
could  save  them  from  injury.  There  are  many  middle- 
aged  people  still  living  who  witnessed  this  ceremony  of 
the  Doseh,  as  it  was  called.  And  to-day  we  discuss  it  in 
this  modern  drawing-room  as  a  thing  belonging  to  a  past 
age  ;  and  the  sheikh  talks  with  me  of  Moslem  schemes 
for  bringing  Islam  abreast  of  all  that  is  worthy  in  the 
Western  world.  An  enlarged  photograph  of  the  late 
Sheikh  Mohammed  Abdul,  looking  down  upon  us  the 
while — that  enlightened  man  (he  was  Grand  Mufti) 
whose  influence  on  Islam  in  Egypt  eclipses  that  of  any 
man  during  the  past  century  ;  and  whose  teaching,  in  a 
sentence,  was — Back  to  the  Koran  and  the  simple  godli- 
ness of  the  Prophet ;  away  with  the  superstitious  inven- 
tions and  the  fables  of  later  men  ;  let  Islam  be  true  to 
the  spirit  of  its  great  founder,  and  his  friends,  who 
extolled  learning  wherever  found.  Ali,  the  Prophet's 
grandson,  the  sheikh  reminded  me,  said,  "  Eminence  in 


Photo} 


[Dittrich,  Cairo. 


THE  HAREEM  OF  AN  OLD  PALACE  IN  CAIRO. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    77 

science  is  the  highest  of  honours  :  he  dies  not  who  gives 
life  to  learning." 

It  was  a  traditional  saying  of  Mohammed  himself 
that  "  whoso  pursueth  the  road  of  knowledge,  God  will 
direct  him  to  the  road  of  Paradise  ;  and  verily  the 
angels  spread  their  arms  to  receive  him  who  seeketh  after 
knowledge  ;  verily  the  superiority  of  a  learned  man  over 
a  mere  worshipper  is  like  that  of  the  full  moon  over  the 


stars." 


The  sheikh  was  subdued  and  sad  at  the  thought 
of  the  slowness  of  the  advance  ;  men  in  the  East,  he 
thought,  had  not  yet  learned  to  work  disinterestedly  and 
steadily  for  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  to  co-operate  in 
their  efforts  for  the  common  good.  The  cultivation  of 
what  is  called  "  public  spirit  "  is  what  is  most  needed  in 
Egypt.  Where  is  the  leader  who  can  call  it  into  being  ? 

The  sheikh's  eldest  son,  a  lad  of  fifteen,  was  able  to 
talk  to  me  in  good  English  ;  he  is  receiving  a  modern 
education,  instead  of  studying  at  Al  Azar,  as  his  ancestors 
have  done  for  hundreds  of  years  !  Surely  a  most  signi- 
ficant fact  with  regard  to  the  future  of  Islam  in  Egypt.) 

It  was  soon  after  these  visits  that  the  Sheikh  El- 
Bekri  succeeded  to  the  higher  honours  of  the  chief  de- 
scendant in  Egypt  of  the  Prophet  Mohammed,  in 
succession  to  his  father-in-law,  Sayyad  Sadat,  who  leaves 
no  male  children. 

Another  splendid  old  palace  is  that  to  which  I  went 
one  night  to  offer  condolences  to  Sayyed  Sadat  on  the 
death  of  a  relative.  The  whole  place  was  brilliantly 
illuminated,  as  is  usual  for  all  ceremonies  held  at  night 
in  the  East ;  even  the  narrow  winding  road  leading  to 
the  house  was  bright  with  innumerable  lamps  specially 
set  up  for  the  occasion. 


• 


78          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

The  mellow  colours  of  the  great  courtyard,  and  the 
brightness  of  the  interior  decorations,  and  the  carpets 
under  the  light  of  myriad  candles  sparkling  in  the 
midst  of  the  lustre  hangings,  made  a  wonderful  setting 
for  all  the  chief  dignitaries  of  Islam  who  were  gathered 
there,  as  a  sign  of  sympathy  \ 

As  the  only  European  present,  I  felt  the  contrast 
between  these  robed  and  turbaned  figures,  and  the  black 
and  white  ugliness  of  the  Englishman's  evening  livery. 

Here  was  the  aged  Sheikh  Al-Azar,  the  Sheikh  El- 
Islam,  and  the  Grand  Mufti,  with  all  the  lesser  lights  of 
the  Church.  We  sat  round  the  room  on  the  divans, 
while  the  Koran  was  chanted  by  men  well  known  for  the 
sweetness  of  their  voices  and  the  purity  of  their  diction. 
Scarcely  a  word  passed,  for  it  is  wrong  to  speak  when 
holy  writ  is  being  recited  ;  and  one  must  not  smoke,  or 
sit  in  a  lounging  attitude,  or  with  crossed  legs.  Coffee 
is,  nowadays,  permitted,  and  on  these  occasions  is  con- 
stantly handed  round. 

I  think  these  visits  at  times  of  bereavement,  when 
one's  presence — without  any  of  those  halting  and  pain- 
ful words  of  condolence  it  is  so  hard  to  express  on  the 
formal  visit  paid  in  England — is  taken  in  itself  as  a  sign 
of  sympathy,  and  the  comforting  words  of  one's  scripture 
are  read  by  men  trained  to  express  their  true  meaning, 
are  an  excellent  custom. 

In  addition  to  the  palaces  there  are  many  fine  old 
houses  in  Cairo,  to  be  reached  by  the  same  narrow  ways, 
where  the  quiet  home-life  of  the  well-to-do  Moslems 
of  the  middle-class  goes  on  in  ways  unknown  to  Euro- 
peans. These  houses  are  spacious  and  airy,  though  from 
the  street  they  look  so  forbidding. 

Built  round  the  usual  square  courtyard,  where  grow 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     79 

some  high  date-palm  trees  perhaps,  with  a  central 
fountain,  they  are  delightful  retreats  from  the  noise  and 
dust  without.  These  houses  have  little  interior  decora- 
tion and  few  treasures  of  tile  and  mashrabieh.  j 

I  visited  many  such  homes ;  one  of  them  dwells  in  my 
mind  as  a  delightful  picture  of  patriarchal  happiness— 
a  fine  old  man,  surrounded  by  his  children  and  grand- 
children, with  his  servants  and  their  children  and  grand- 
children, ruling  them  all  with  firmness  and  the  most 
kindly  grace. 

The  first  thing  in  the  house  his  younger  son  showed 
to  me  with  pride  was  the  place  of  prayer,  where  all  the 
men,  master  and  dependants,  meet  at  the  stated  hours 
to  adore  and  supplicate  their  God. 

Such  homes  rarely,  if  ever,  have  any  pictures ;  here 
the  only  adnrnmp.nt  nf  the  JY^S  was  a  large  framed 
inscription  in  gold,  on  a  blue  ground,  of  the  words,  in 
Arabic,  of  course — "  In  the  Name  of  God,  the  Com- 
passionate, the  Merciful,"  hung  on  the  wall  of  the 
salemlik,  so  that  it  is  the  first  thing  one  sees  on  entering 
the  house. 

The  traditional  saying  of  the  Prophet,  "  The  angels 
do  not  enter  a  house  in  which  is  a  dog,  nor  that  in 
which  there  are  pictures,"  still  keeps  the  Moslem 
home,  to  Western  ideas,  a  rather  forlorn  place,  which 
the  splendour  of  the  carpets  and  the  growing  addition 
of  modern  furniture  does  little  to  redeem.  ) 

The  use  of  photography  is  increasing  ;  one  of  the 
sons  of  this  house  possesses  a  camera,  and  enlarged 
portraits  of  departed  relatives  are  now  found  on  many 
walls.  And  the  educated  Moslem  thinks  that  a  mistake 
has  been  made  in  attributing  to  the  Prophet  any  sayings 
which  can  be  construed  into  limiting  advance  in  art, 


8o          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

as  in  science.  When  he  forbade  the  making  of  pictures 
— "  If  you  must  make  pictures,  make  them  of  trees 
and  things  without  souls  " — it  was  his  sole  intention 
to  forbid  the  use  of  pictures  in  the  mosque.  \ 

It  was  Mohammed's  intense  hatred  of  idolatry  that 
led  him  to  denounce  drawing  in  the  same  breath  as 
sculpture ;  art,  as  such,  detached  from  every  form  of 
the  worship  of  God,  it  is  maintained,  was  never  con- 
templated when  Mohammed  declared  that  "  whoso- 
ever draweth  a  picture  shall  be  punished  at  the  last 
day  by  ordering  him  to  breathe  a  spirit  into  it  ;  and 
this  he  can  never  do,  and  so  he  will  be  punished  as  long 
as  God  wills."  This  is  a  traditional  saying.  The 
teaching  of  the  Koran  itself  is  shown  in  these  words : 
"  O  believers,  surely  wine  and  games  of  chance,  and 
statues  and  the  divining  arrows,  are  an  abomination 
of  Satan's  work  "  (Sura  v.  92).  In  Cairo  there  is  now 
a  School  of  Art  in  which  Moslem  students  are  showing 
great  proficiency  in  both  statuary  and  portrait  painting. 

It  is  to  this  restriction,  of  course,  that  the  wonderful 
ingenuity  and  beauty  attained  by  Arabesque  decora- 
tion is  due.  If  anyone  wishes  to  see  what  such  decora- 
tion is  capable  of,  he  should  visit  the  new  Mosque  of 
El-Rifaii,  in  Cairo.  I  imagine  that  there  is  not  a  single 
note  of  importance  in  the  whole  range  of  such  decora- 
tion which  is  not  here  turned  to  gorgeous  effect,  through 
the  knowledge  and  skill  of  Hertz  Pasha.  This  splendid 
mosque,  just  beneath  the  Citadel,  was  not  opened  till 
this  summer  (1912),  but  I  had  special  permission  to 
visit  it  last  winter. 

With  regard  to  animals,  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  because  the  dog  is  forbidden  the  house,  and  is 
regarded  as  an  unclean  beast — it  is  the  mouth  of  the 


Photd\  [Lekegtan,  Cairo. 

INSIDE  THE  COURTYARD  OF  AN  OLD  PALACE  IN  CAIRO. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    81 

dog  that  is  dreaded,  experience  in  hot  countries  shows 
with  what  cause — that  therefore  the  Moslem  has  no 
thought  for  animals.  Having  myself  seen  a  dog  become 
suddenly  raving  mad  in  a  desert  village,  I  can  understand 
the  Prophet's  precautions.  A  rich  Moslem  recently 
left  ^40  a  year  for  bread  for  dogs.  It  is  the  general 
belief  that  animals  will  with  man  appear  at  the  resurrec- 
tion, and  some  of  the  most  worthy  will  be  admitted  to 
Paradise.  "  Fear  God  with  regard  to  animals,"  said 
Mohammed,  "  ride  them  when  they  are  fit  to  be  ridden, 
and  get  off  when  they  are  tired.  Verily  there  are 
rewards  for  doing  good  to  dumb  animals,  and  giving 
them  water  to  drink."  A  traditional  story  of  the 
Prophet  says,  "  An  adultress  was  forgiven,  who,  passing 
by  a  dog  by  a  well  and  seeing  it  holding  out  its  tongue 
from  thirst  which  was  near  killing  it,  took  off  her  boot, 
and  made  a  rope  of  one  of  her  garments,  and  drew  water 
for  the  dog."  And  all  the  Prophet's  teaching  agreed 
with  this ;  many  are  the  touching  and  beautiful  stories 
told  of  his  own  love  of  birds  and  beasts. 

Like  all  writers  on  Islam  who  do  not  know  the 
living  people,  having  gone  solely  to  books,  Mr.  Bosworth 
Smith,  although  his  generous  panegyric  is  valued  as 
almost  the  only  book  ever  written  by  a  scholarly  English- 
man in  which  a  favourable  word  is  said  for  this  religion, 
gives  too  much  praise  to  the  Moslem's  treatment  of 
animals.  It  is  another  of  the  contradictions  of  the 
East,  that  in  this  matter  they  are  both  better  and  worse 
than  the  Western  people.  The  injustice  is  to  write 
down  all  Oriental  folk  as  cruel. 

Playing  in  the  courtyard  we  saw  the  children  of  the 
household  and  the  little  black  son  of  Bilal  the  gatekeeper 
— descended  from  a  long  line  of  slaves  to  the  family, 
6 


82          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

though,  now  being  as  free  as  his  master.  Indeed  it  is  the 
Moslem  custom  in  houses  of  this  sort  to  bring  children 
up  in  pairs,  the  servant's  child  with  the  master's,  giving 
each  almost  identical  advantages  ;  and  later,  if  the  poor 
dependent  proves  clever,  sending  him  to  the  same 
school  or  university,  and  in  the  case  of  girls  allowing 
them  to  learn  from  the  same  governesses.  Many  a 
child  of  slaves  has  in  this  manner  won  his  way  to  the 
very  highest  position  ;  for  here  birth  is  no  obstacle, 
which  in  Christendom  is  the  almost  impassable  bar, 
guarded  as  it  is  in  the  last  resort  by  snobbery,  that 
cruellest  and  least  relenting  of  foes  to  humble  advance. 
For  our  entertainment,  sometimes,  a  negro  lad  of 
the  house  would  swarm  up  one  of  the  high  trees  and 
secure  for  us  some  dates ;  his  master  joking  him  on  the 
fact  that  such  a  small  proportion  of  those  gathered 
ever  reached  himself  or  his  family  !  Such  again  are 
the  principles  of  equality,  when  put  into  actual  practice. 


CHAPTER    VII 

"  A  man's  true  wealth  hereafter  is  the  good  he  has  done  in  this  world 
to  his  fellow-man.  When  he  dies,  people  will  ask,  What  property  has  he 
left  behind  him  ?  But  the  angels  will  ask,  What  good  deeds  has  he  sent 
before  him  ?  " 

Miskat-ul-Masabih,  trans,  by  Capt.  Matthews,  I.  vi.  445. 

ANOTHER  country-house  visit  took  us  into  an  entirely 
different  realm,  and  opened  another  phase  of  Islamic 
life  in  Egypt.  I  had  the  pleasure  during  my  stay  in 
Cairo  of  trying  to  be  of  some  use  to  the  many  students 
there  ;  with  the  result  that  I  am  able  to  again  abundantly 
deny  the  charge,  so  often  made  against  Oriental  people, 
that  they  are  wanting  in  gratitude. 

The  tangible  kindnesses  I  received  on  all  sides  were 
enough  to  obscure  any  service  I  found  it  possible  to  give, 
and  enlarged  my  experience  of  innumerable  instances 
of  single-minded  gratitude,  pathetic  in  the  self-sacrifice 
they  entailed — an  experience  which  began  years  before 
with  the  most  primitive  Moslem  folk  in  the  Sahara  desert; 
where  I  first  became  acquainted  with  Arab  people. 

The  Prophet's  own  gratitude  for  service  and  devo- 
tion was  unfailing  ;  in  the  Koran  he  says,  "  God  is  not 
pleased  with  thanklessness  in  His  servants "  (Sura 
xxxix.  9).  Long  ago  Lane  explained  how  unjust  this 
charge  of  ingratitude  was,  arising  from  a  failure  to 
understand  the  Eastern,  and  especially  the  bedouin, 
code  of  manners,  by  which  they  take  certain  services 

from  other  human  beings  as  a  thing  it  would  be  an 

83 


84          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

insult  to  even  hint  that  they  would  refuse.  To  thank 
a  friend  would  often  be  to  suggest  that  he  was  despicable. 
It  is  founded  on  ideas  almost  as  old,  I  imagine,  as  the 
first  records  of  the  Arab  race  ;  and  as  one  would  expect, 
the  Koran  supports  the  idea — reward  is  for  those  who 
give,  "  seeking  neither  recompense  nor  thanks "  (Sura 
Ixxvi.  9). 

The  Prophet  was,  as  I  have  said,  unfailing  in  grati- 
tude and  devotion  to  those  who  served  him  ;  there  are 
instances  of  this  on  every  page  of  his  life.  And  the 
universal  tribute  paid  to  this  virtue  in  the  Arab  people 
by  those  who,  like  Palgrave,  for  instance,  have  lived 
long  amongst  them,  shows  how  unjust  the  casual  judg- 
ment can  be  when,  owing  to  mere  surface  habits,  a 
whole  people  can  be  so  wrongly  described.  The  instances 
of  deepest  gratitude,  I  have  myself  found,  amongst 
Arabs  in  oases  of  the  Sahara,  remote  as  that  of  Tolga, 
are  confirmed  by  a  friend  of  mine,  a  lady  who  lived  for 
nearly  two  years  with  a  poor  Arab  family,  the  only 
English  resident  in  Kairouan,  the  most  religious  town  in 
Tunisia,  finding,  as  she  said,  "  a  wealth  of  devotion  and 
gratitude  "  for  the  services  she  gave  to  her  friends  and 
their  neighbours. 

To  my  mind  there  is  nothing  more  beautiful  in  all 
the  development  of  that  fine  conception  of  the  duties 
of  friendship  which  is  found  in  the  worthy  Moslem,  as 
the  perfect  confidence  he  shows  in  the  willingness  of 
friends  to  share  everything  with  him. 

The  story  is  told  of  Ibrahim  ben  Adham,  one  of 
the  saints  of  Islam — a  story  which  inspired  a  beautiful 
poem  of  Leigh  Hunt's. 

"  One  night  I  saw  in  a  dream  Gabriel,  with  a  piece 
of  paper  in  his  hand. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     85 

"  c  What  are  you  doing  ?  '  I  asked  him. 

"  '  I  am  writing  on  this  sheet  of  paper  the  names  of 
the  friends  of  the  Lord  !  ' 

"  6  Will  you  write  mine  among  them  ?  ' 

"  '  But  you  are  not  one  of  His  friends !  ' 

"  c  If  I  am  not  one  of  His  friends,  at  least  I  am  a 
friend  of  His  friends  !  ' 

"  Immediately  a  voice  was  heard — c  O  Gabriel, 
write  Ibrahim's  name  on  the  first  line  ;  for  he  who 
loves  our  friends  is  our  friend.'  ' 

I  think  it  was  Mrs.  Gaskell  who  suggested  that 
Christianity  was  in  need  of  a  second  Golden  Rule, 
which  should  be  "  Let  your  friends  do  unto  you  as  you 
would  do  unto  them."  We  might  go  to  the  East  to 
realise  with  what  happiness  such  a  rule  can  be  put  into 
practice. 

Our  system  of  invitation  and  acceptance,  for  instance, 
in  the  matter  of  hospitality  is  exactly  reversed.  Here, 
between  friends  the  guest  decides  that  he  wishes  to 
pay  a  visit,  and  says  so  ;  in  most  cases  you  honour  a 
man,  not  by  inviting  him  to  dinner,  but  by  telling  him 
you  will  dine  with  him. 

One  of  my  student  friends,  knowing  I  was  particularly 
interested  in  the  organised  charities  of  Islam,  was  anxious 
that  I  should  visit  his  relatives  in  Tanta  and  see  the 
wakfs  (charities)  of  Pasha  Menshawi,  the  magnitude  of 
whose  legacies,  I  knew,  exceeded  anything  of  modern 
times.  A  missionary  charge  against  Islam,  often  repeated, 
is  that  while  there  is  a  good  deal  of  promiscuous  alms- 
giving, anything  like  organised  charity  is  unknown. 

Tanta  is  a  town  in  Lower  Egypt  which  has  had  a  bad 
reputation  with  Europeans  from  the  lack  of  zeal  it  has 
shown  in  turning  itself  into  an  imitation  of  a  European 


86          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

city ;  from  the  magnitude  of  its  annual  moolid  of  its 
patron  saint,  which  largely  takes  the  form  of  a  vast  fair, 
attracting  all  the  riff-raff  of  the  country,  as  great  fairs 
have  a  way  of  doing  the  world  over  ;  and  from  several 
outbursts  of  fanaticism  on  the  part  of  the  mob,  which 
have  received  full  attention  in  the  incorruptible  English 
Press  in  Egypt,  too  far  away  to  take  any  note  of  such 
things  as  religious  riots  in  Liverpool ! 

I  believe  that  last  year  a  British  regiment  marching 
through  Tanta  from  Alexandria  to  Cairo  was  roughly 
handled,  bottle-throwing — it  sounds  like  Ireland — 
leading  to  an  order  of  fixed  bayonets. 

The  town  has  been  behind  in  more  important  things 
than  the  development  of  the  flash  French  architecture, 
say  of  Cairo,  which  builds  sky-scrapers  before  it  has 
made  a  drainage  system.  Let  the  truth  be  told,  Tanta 
is  a  dirty  place,  and  modern  education  has  lagged.  But 
there  is  a  new  spirit  abroad.  A  sort  of  municipal  pride  is 
coming  to  life  in  its  chief  men ;  it  has  an  alert  governor, 
and  the  Sheikh  of  Tanta,  whose  power  is  second  to  none 
in  Islamic  Egypt,  is  a  man  of  learning  and  enlightenment, 
and  what  is  more,  of  genuine  spiritual  force. 

Tanta,  then,  was  the  scene  of  an  experience  which 
transported  us,  with  the  facility  of  the  magic  carpet, 
into  another  true  Arabian  night — the  story  of  which 
may  be  put  into  the  same  form  of  simple  narrative  as 
the  old  stories  take. 

We  were  met  by  our  host,  the  father  of  my  young 
friend,  an  able-looking,  turbaned  Arab,  and  a  relative 
(an  avocat)  who  spoke  French,  and  a  doctor  friend  speak- 
ing English.  Our  host,  Basouny  Bey  El  Khatib,  is  the 
executor  of  the  late  Pasha's  wakfs — a  considerable 
trust,  entailing,  I  found,  the  management  of  no  less 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      87 

than  6000  feddans  (roughly,  a  feddan  is  an  acre)  of 
the  most  productive  land  in  Egypt,  and  the  great 
revenues  coming  from  them.  It  is  said  that  land  in  this 
part  of  Egypt  is  worth  ^200  an  acre.  The  extent  of 
the  Pasha's  fortune  may  be  gauged  by  remembering 
that  a  Moslem  may  not  dispose  of  more  than  a  third 
of  his  wealth  away  from  his  rightful  heirs. 

Equipages  with  prancing  steeds — the  first  luxury  of 
an  Eastern  man  of  wealth,  who  likes  no  faltering  in  the 
matter  of  the  prancing — were  awaiting  us,  and  we  were 
driven  to  a  beautiful  house  in  the  town,  where  the 
avocat  was  to  entertain  us  to  lunch.     This  house  com- 
bined a  great  deal  of  Western  comfort,  with  provision 
for  Oriental  customs.     The  coffee  served  at  once  in  the 
salemlik  was  the  delicious  sort  only  grown  in  Yemen, 
which,  with  the  addition   of  a  speck  of  ambergris  to 
each  cup,  makes  a  drink  fit  for  the  gods.     The  lunch 
was  truly  superb,  Egyptian  in  every  detail,  but  served 
in  the  French  style,  with  the  multiplicity  of  dishes  and 
silver  and  cutlery  which  rich  houses  in  Egypt  are  begin- 
ning to  possess  for  the  entertainment  of  European  visitors. 
The  provision  of  food  of  all  sorts  was  abundant  beyond 
English  imagination,  including  every  delicacy  of  the  East. 
As  I  was  not  intimate  enough  with  my  host  to 
refuse,   without  fear  of  offence,   any  of  the  fourteen 
courses,  I  was  led  to  remark  to  the  doctor,  who  has  been 
in  England,  that  our  meals  must  mean  a  sort  of  semi- 
starvation   to   Egyptians.     His   instant   agreement  was 
amusing.     When   in    London,    he    said,    he   had   been 
invited  to  lunch  with  a  judge  ;    but  after  he  had  left 
the  house,  he  was  so  little  complet  that  he  adjourned 
to  a  neighbouring  hotel  and  began  again  !     But  then, 
he  explained,  he  seldom  ate  more  than  one  meal  a  day  ! 


88          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

After  lunch  we  adjourned  to  the  great  hall  for  the 
usual  coffee  and  smoke,  till  our  chariots  came  to  the 
door,  and  we  dashed  off  to  see  the  new  mosque  schools, 
almshouses,  and  hospital,  built  in  accordance  with  the 
Menshawi  bequest. 

The  mosque  is  a  fine  building,  beautifully  decorated, 
in  Arabesque  style,  of  course,  by  Egyptian  work-people. 
A  side  chapel  contains  the  tomb  of  the  founder,  at  which 
prayers  are  said,  and  the  Koran  read,  daily.  There 
were  a  good  many  worshippers  in  the  mosque,  about  to 
make  the  three  o'clock  prayer,  some  of  them  being 
students  from  the  large  theological  school  which  is 
under  the  same  roof,  and  only  divided  from  the  mosque 
by  a  screen.  The  school  was  a  delightful  scene  of 
picturesque  activity,  the  scholars  drawn  apparently 
from  the  gentler  classes,  being  attired,  as  becomes  the 
student  of  religion,  in  robe  and  turban,  and  all  of  them 
looking  remarkably  well-fed  and  clothed  under  the 
Pasha's  provision  for  them. 

I  ventured  to  suggest  a  motto  to  the  Bey  for  the 
mosque — I  had  noted  the  lines  from  an  old  book  of 
travel ;  Sir  William  Jones,  a  hundred  years  since,  had 
seen  them  on  a  mosque  on  the  tiny  island  of  Johanna, 
off  the  coast  of  Africa. 

"  The  world  was  given  us  for  our  own  edification, 
Not  for  the  purpose  of  raising  sumptuous  buildings  ; 
Life,  for  the  discharge  of  moral  and  religious  duties, 
Not  for  pleasurable  indulgences  ; 
Wealth  to  be  liberally  bestowed, 
Not  avariciously  hoarded, 
And  learning,  to  produce  good  actions, 
Not  empty  disputes." 

Quite  near  is  the  hospital,  with  its  bright  wards, 
its  terraces,  and  balconies,  and  a  charming  garden,  where 


Photo} 


[Lekegian,  Cairo. 


A  DRINK  OF  WATER  IN  THE  NAME  OF  ALLAH  !" 
A  familiar  scene  at  the  mosque  door. 

• 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     89 

a  profusion  of  roses,  lavender,  stocks,  violets,  jessamine, 
were  all  flowering  amidst  its  palms,  in  such  glorious 
sunshine  as  forbade  a  single  sense  of  ours  to  remind 
us  that  the  word  "  winter  "  still  held  the  calendar. 

The  great  surprise,  however,  was  in  the  hospital 
itself.  To  have  found  such  an  institution  in  a  pro- 
vincial town  in  England  would  have  been  a  gratification  ; 
in  Tanta,  a  town  backward  in  "  morally  bankrupt  Islam," 
it  seemed  that  only  a  touch  of  magic  could  account  for 
the  scene.  Like  the  other  charitable  buildings,  standing 
on  the  same  area,  the  hospital  was  built  after  the  Pasha's 
demise,  under  the  intelligent  care  of  the  trustee,  and  our 
doctor  friend,  who,  by  the  Pasha's  wish,  is  the  director. 
By  any  standard,  this  hospital  is  worthy  to  rank  as  a 
modern  institution,  possessing  every  approved  device, 
even  to  the  latest  of  those  exquisite  electrical  and 
photographic  inventions  for  the  treatment  of  disease 
which  require  a  separate  operating  chamber,  with 
specially  generated  motive-power. 

As  we  went  through  the  hospital  wards,  and  greeted 
the  poor  Moslem  patients  who  occupied  the  beds,  and 
who  must  have  come  from  the  dark  and  comfortless 
hovels  which  the  Egyptian  poor  inhabit,  we  wondered 
what  sort  of  miracle  they  thought  it  was  that  the  Pasha's 
wealth,  applied  in  a  way  unique  in  this  country,  had 
created  for  their  benefit. 

Adjoining  the  hospital  are  the  almshouses,  for  poor 
old  men  and  women — these  being  under  the  sheikh  of 
the  mosque,  who  was  also  nominated  by  the  Pasha. 
Like  the  hospital — and  of  course  the  schools — this  in- 
stitution is  for  the  benefit  solely  of  those  of  the  Moslem 
faith.  But  the  Pasha's  enlightenment  did  not  stop 
short  of  tolerance  of  other  religions.  I  will  give  later  a 


90          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

list  of  the  charitable  causes  named  in  the  will  of  this 
remarkable  man,  which  show  the  broadest  sympathies ; 
indeed,  he  almost  apologises,  after  helping  every  sort  of 
Christian  and  Jewish  charity,  for  wishing  this  particular 
group  of  buildings  to  be  set  apart  for  Moslem  benefit. 
Miss  Claridge,  an  English  lady,  who  has  had  experience 
in  British  army  nursing,  is  the  matron.  It  is  a  great 
work,  I  think,  to  be  able  to  set  a  new  example  of  the 
noblest  use  of  organised  charity,  in  a  country  awaking  to 
its  social  obligations. 

In  the  matron's  room,  over  a  cup  of  tea,  we  learnt 
something  of  the  Pasha's  history.  Though  his  family 
is  an  ancient  one,  going  back  indeed  to  Arabia,  and  then 
to  descent  from  the  Prophet  himself,  he  was  not  born 
to  any  great  wealth.  His  energy  and  insight  were 
remarkable,  however,  and  he  was  one  of  those  men 
who  acquired  land  when  the  price  was  very  low,  and 
saw  it  advance  in  value  literally  beyond  the  dreams  of 
avarice. 

Leaving  the  hospital,  we  now  drove  through  the 
narrow  streets  to  the  famous  mosque  of  Tanta,  which 
rose  over  the  tomb  of  the  thirteenth-century  sheikh, 
Adbul  Abbas  Sidi  Ahmed  Al-Badawi — to  give  him  his 
full  name,  and  his  title  (Lord),  and  his  popular  nickname. 

As  the  history  of  the  mosque,  as  Moslems  tell  it, 
does  not  quite  accord  with  the  European  guide-books, 
I  give  it  in  the  sheikh's  words,  omitting  the  legendary 
miracles  and  marvels,  for  the  reason  that  Moslem  friends 
who  hold  this  saint  in  great  respect  regret  the  accumula- 
tion of  the  fables  which  have  gathered  round  his  name, 
with  a  truly  Eastern  profusion  ;  and  in  saying  this  I 
do  not  forget  the  Italian  ingenuity  and  imaginative- 
ness in  this  respect.  I  am  writing  in  Siena,  at  the  time 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      91 

when  the  celebration  of  that  noble  woman,  Saint 
Catherine,  is  taking  place,  with  its  recollection  of  the 
stigmata,  which  a  Pope  had  to  declare  was  "  luminous  " 
and  not  "  bloody,"  in  order  to  appease  the  jealous 
adherents  of  St.  Francis,  who  wished  to  retain  for  their 
saint  the  sole  credit  of  miraculous  marks. 

The  Saint  of  Tanta  was  born  in  Fez,  Morocco, 
where  his  ancestors  had  migrated  to  escape  a  persecu- 
tion of  the  nobles  of  Arabia  by  Al-Haggag.  When  he 
was  seven  years  old,  his  father  had  a  dream,  in  which  it 
was  insisted  that  he  should  go  to  Mecca  and  take  the 
boy  with  him.  Al  Sherif  Hassas,  his  brother,  records 
how  the  family  wandered  from  one  place  to  another, 
starting  in  the  year  603  of  the  Flight;  until,  after  four 
years,  they  arrived  in  the  Holy  City.  They  were  cordially 
received  by  the  other  descendants  of  the  Prophet,  and 
remained  there  until  their  father  died  in  627. 

"  I  remained  with  my  brothers,  Abbas  being  the 
youngest ;  and  for  his  bravery  we  gave  him  the  nick- 
name of  Al-Badawi — the  bedouin.  I  taught  him  the 
Koran,  and  made  him  go  to  school  with  my  son,  Hoseyn. 
He  was  afterwards  recognised  as  the  noblest  of  all  the 
Knights  of  Mecca." 

Abbas  adopted  a  life  of  piety,  and  became  a  mystic 
and  a  recluse,  keeping  aloof  from  mankind  to  such  a 
degree  that  eventually  he  only  spoke  by  signs.  Then  he, 
too,  had  a  strange  vision — that  he  must  go  to  Tanta. 

It  is  probable  that  he  had  passed  through  this  place 
as  a  child,  on  that  four  years'  journey — in  any  case  the 
whole  Islamic  world  becomes  as  one  well-known  country 
to  the  pilgrims  who  gather  in  Mecca — and  so  without 
hesitation  he  left  the  Holy  City,  taking  no  count  of  the 
general  opposition  of  relatives  and  friends  to  his  doing  so. 


92          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

In  Tanta  the  mystic's  eccentricities  increased  ;  he 
lived  entirely  on  the  housetop  for  twelve  years,  eating 
little  food — his  mind  entranced  with  the  contemplation 
of,  and  longing  for,  God. 

The  sheikh  used  to  cover  his  face  so  that  no  man 
could  see  him,  and  it  is  related  that  a  certain  Sidi 
Adbul  Majid  so  longed  to  see  him  that  he  importuned 
him  for  the  favour.  Upon  seeing  the  sheikh's  face, 
Majid  died  instantly. 

As  Rodwell  observes,  of  the  traditions  of  Islam, 
"  however  absurd  they  may  be  in  many  of  their  details, 
it  will  generally  be  found  that  where  there  is  an  ancient 
and  tolerably  universal  consent,  there  will  be  found  at 
the  bottom  a  residuum  of  fact  and  historical  truth." 
And  Burton's  experience  of  the  East  led  him  to  the 
same  conclusion. 

To  such  men  as  this  saint,  of  whatever  creed,  miracles 
have  always  been  attributed.  As  another  great  Moslem 
mystic,  Rumi  said,  "  Love  and  faith  are  a  mighty 
spell."  There  is  a  wonderful  similarity  about  the 
miracles  of  say  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  St.  Anth<  ny  of 
Padua,  and  those  of  such  men  as  the  Saint  of  Tanta, 
patron  of  all  the  bedouins. 

The  chief  of  the  mosque  to-day  was  quite  ready  to 
discuss  the  question  of  his  predecessor's  life,  as  it  affects 
human  credulity.  In  the  main  his  views  were  very 
similar  to  those  of  the  Sheikh  of  the  Mosque  of  Hoseyn, 
which  I  give  later  on. 

"  The  visiting  of  the  tomb  of  such  a  man  draws  men 
to  the  House  of  God  ;  it  turns  their  thoughts  away  from 
earthly  things,"  he  said. 

As  a  friend  thereupon  remarked,  credulity  should  be 
considered  in  relation  to  the  general  standard  of  learning 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     93 

and  culture  ;  the  advance  of  education  must  undoubtedly 
tend  to  give  a  just  proportion  to  things  which  put  too 
great  a  strain  upon  reason. 

To  which  the  sheikh  replied  that  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  exalt  reason  above  faith.  "  The  practical 
outcome  of  men's  veneration  for  the  Sheikh  Al-Badawi 
has  been  gifts  for  education  and  the  poor  which  are 
worth  over  .£50,000  a  year." 

We  arrived  at  the  mosque  during  school-time  ;  the 
great  area  was  crowded  with  circles  of  pupils  sitting 
at  the  feet  of  their  teachers,  who  squatted  on  the  low 
teaching  chairs.  What  a  babel,  what  inconsequence  of 
teaching  method  ;  what  lack — apparently — of  any  con- 
trolling link  between  teacher  and  taught. 

It  is  a  wonderful  sight,  more  impressive  and 
picturesque  than  Al  Azar,  even  taking  into  account  the 
greater  splendour  of  the  open  court  of  the  Cairo  Uni- 
versity. The  floor-space  here  seemed  to  me  almost  as 
spacious  as  that  of  Al  Azar,  and  it  was  even  more 
thronged  with  pupils.  The  whole  scene  gained  a 
certain  indefinable  interest  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
remote  from  the  ordinary  tourist  beat ;  the  lads 
seemed  fresher,  showing  a  welcome  in  their  glance  at 
the  stranger,  that  one  could  scarcely  expect  to  find  in 
Cairo. 

It  would  turn  the  edge  of  any  boy's  temper  to  be 
on  exhibition  for  more  than  half  a  year  as  a  curious 
biological  specimen.  I  don't  wonder  that  the  Oriental 
spirit  passed  the  point  of  endurance  some  little  time 
since,  and  made  an  aggressive  camera  the  excuse  for  a 
riot  at  Al  Azar — serious  enough  to  have  kept  all  cameras 
out  of  the  place  ever  since  by  definite  order  of  the 
Government.  I  have  seen  monocles  or  lorgnettes — as 


94          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  case  may  be — there,  which  were,  to  my  mind,  more 
provoking  than  any  camera  could  be  ;  and  parasols 
which  seemed  about  to  prod  the  specimens,  the  mental 
attitude  of  the  visitors  obviously  being  about  equal  to 
that  with  which  they  would  regard  the  exhibits  at  an 
aquarium.  I  have  the  good  fortune  to  publish  for  the 
first  time  what  I  am  assured  is  the  last  photograph 
taken  at  Al  Azar  before  the  prohibition  was  made. 
The  dislike  of  any  suggestion  of  a  disturbance  is  so 
great  that  the  Sheikh  Al  Azar  himself  will  not  face 
the  responsibility  of  giving  permission  to  photograph 
there  now. 

I  am  glad  I  saw  this  scene  in  the  Tanta  mosque, 
with  its  pulsating,  crowded  life,  so  purely  Eastern  in 
every  phase  of  it.  In  less  than  a  year  the  fascinating 
picture  will  have  been  shattered  ;  and  these  courts  will 
be  silent  and  deserted,  but  for  scattered  worshippers, 
and  at  the  one  crowded  hour  of  the  Friday  noonday 
prayer. 

The  Tanta  mosque  pupils — there  are  two  thousand 
four  hundred  of  them — will  before  long  migrate  to  a 
modern  school  which  is  being  built  (at  a  cost  of  .£12,000, 
by  the  general  Wakfs  administration),  a  little  distance 
away,  with  separate  classrooms,  where  the  lads  will  sit 
on  forms  at  yellow  desks  imported  from  the  school 
furnishing  warehouse  on  Holborn  Viaduct,  and  the 
sheikhs  who  teach  them  will  be  ordered  to  stand  at 
their  work,  for  all  the  world  like  the  teachers  of  a 
"  godless  Board  School  "  in  England. 

Learning  will  flourish  more  ;  and  the  price  of  that 
increasing  drabness  which  follows  advance  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  must  be  paid.  But  no  one  who  has  watched 
these  vivid  pictures  of  Oriental  life  can  see  them  dis- 


Photo]  {D  it  trick,  Cairo. 

A  SCENE  IN  THE  GREAT  UNIVERSITY  OF  AL  AZAR  IN  CAIRO. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE      95 

appear  without  regret.  I  only  hope  the  graceful  robe 
and  the  turban  may  be  left,  and  that  there  will  be 
nothing  done  to  add  to  that  section  of  the  effendi 
class  which,  while  donning  European  clothes,  deserts 
religious  practice  and  belief. 

At  Alexandria,  too,  new  modern  schools  are  being 
built,  and  also  at  Damietta.  One  worthy  ambition  of 
the  reformers  is  to  provide  great  space  in  these  schools 
"  for  a  bountiful  supply  of  light  and  air." 

We  were  now  conducted  to  the  sheikh's  private 
room,  where  coffee  appeared,  and  we  talked  again  of 
the  mosque  and  its  saint,  of  education,  and  of  the  signs 
of  reviving  in  Islam.  The  sheikh  gave  me  an  outline 
of  the  organisation  of  such  a  mosque  as  that  of  Tanta, 
with  the  expenses,  which  I  give  in  a  chapter  devoted 
to  the  mosques. 

The  sheikh  was  too  great  an  authority  in  his  church 
to  escape  my  question  as  to  the  cursing  of  Christians  in 
the  mosques  on  Friday,  which  Mr.  Gairdner  in  The 
Reproach  of  Islam  has  charged  the  Moslems  with. 
His  denial  was  as  emphatic,  and  his  explanation  exactly 
the  same,  as  that  of  other  dignitaries. 

"  Did  the  words  used,"  I  persisted,  "  cover  the  case 
of  a  Moslem  who  had  turned  Christian  ?  " 

"  Certainly  not ;  such  a  man  was  disliked  by  the 
people ;  perverts  were  not  loved,"  he  thought,  "  in 
any  country." 

^  In  barbaric  times,"  remarked  another  Moslem 
present,  "  followers  of  the  Prophet  had  thought  to  do 
God  service  by  killing  the  pervert.  Christians  had 
thought  the  same  ;  but  a  world  that  saw  an  Inquisition, 
and  the  lighting  of  Smithfield  fires,  as  religious  institu- 
tions, had  passed  away.  Is  Islam  to  be  stamped  for 


96          VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

ever  with  its  earlier  methods  ?  Does  modern  Chris- 
tianity like  to  be  reminded  of  days  when  a  woman  was 
stoned  to  death  for  gathering  sticks  on  the  Sabbath  ? 
Because  we  once  put  sorcerers  to  death,  may  we  never 
be  freed  from  that  charge,  even  when  the  thing  is 
obsolete  ?  To  read  the  missionary  books  one  would 
think  not ;  and  also  one  might  imagine  that  the  writers, 
who  know  so  much  of  Islam,  had  lost  the  power  of 
memory  as  to  the  history  of  their  own  country,  where 
the  witch  was  ignominiously  drowned  in  the  village 
pond  not  so  very  many  years  ago. 

"  Some  of  us  Moslems  claim  the  liberty  of  a  rational 
adaptation  of  our  religion  to  the  advancing  civilisation 
of  the  world  ;  and  we  believe  we  have  as  much  moral 
right  to  reconcile  the  tenets  of  our  faith  to  the  needs  of 
the  time  in  which  we  live,  as  Christians  have,  and  that 
our  difficulties  in  doing  this  are  not  greater,  in  spite 
of  theories  of  plenary  inspiration,  the  mass  of  Tradition, 
and  so  on  ;  all  of  which  things  Protestant  England  has 
made  short  work  of  in  her  own  case  when  she  wanted 
to  strike  a  blow — in  the  very  name  of  religion  itself — 
for  liberty  of  conscience,  and  other  advance.  By 
methods  illogical,  and  inconsistent  with  ecclesiastical 
versions  of  revealed  truth  or  of  historical  sequence,  and 
with  an  adaptability  to  the  needs  of  men  rather  than 
of  systems,  England  (or  rather  I  should  say  Great 
Britain,  for  Scotland  has  played  a  glorious  part  in  this 
work)  has  shown  how  the  best  spiritual  forces  of  a  religion 
may,  by  these  methods,  be  immeasurably  fostered  and 
strengthened,  raising  a  whole  nation  by  its  moral  in- 
spiration to  the  highest  plane  of  worthy  human  attain- 
ment. I  sometimes  think,"  he  continued,  "  that  the 
Christian  people  who  come  to  us,  and  your  ruling  class 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     97 

too,  and  the  missionaries  especially,  wish  to  discourage 
and  stop  all  advance  on  the  part  of  the  Moslem  people." 

After  a  prolonged  visit  we  said  "  good-bye."  Our 
horses  had  attracted  a  great  throng  at  the  mosque 
entrance  ;  the  Arab  will  forgive  anything — and  forget 
his  fanaticism  (of  which,  however,  we  saw  no  sign)  for 
a  good  horse,  even  to  the  dashing  through  crowded 
narrow  streets  like  these  ;  indeed,  the  nerves  of  the 
people  in  the  crowd  certainly  stood  our  onslaught 
better  than  mine  did  in  one  of  the  chariots. 

As  a  means  of  progression,  I  prefer  the  humble 
ass,  which  is  in  Egypt  such  an  admirable  beast,  and  so 
suitable  to  the  native  conditions  in  both  town  and 
country.  The  mockery  of  the  Romans  in  Egypt — 
"  these  people  ride  on  asses  " — was  natural ;  it  is  heard 
to-day,  but  it  never  survives  long  residence  in  the 
country  by  average  folk. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

"  This  is  the  happiness  of  the  Arab.     Green  trees,  sweet  water,  and  a 
kind  face  make  the  Garden."  An  Arab  saying. 

WE  were  now  bound  for  the  railway  station,  for  the 
Pasha's  house,  where  we  were  to  sleep,  and  the  wonderful 
garden  he  created,  are  ten  miles  or  so  in  the  country. 
When  we  arrived  at  the  little  wayside  station  it  was 
dark,  and  our  drive  through  the  quiet  country — the 
hooting  of  the  owls  was  the  only  sound  we  heard — 
revealed  nothing  of  our  destination.  At  last,  a  pair  of 
gates,  a  carriage  drive,  more  gates,  a  gravelled  court- 
yard before  a  great  house,  and  we  alight,  to  receive  an 
Eastern  welcome  to  what  is  rightly  called  a  palace,  the 
favourite  home  of  the  Pasha  Menshawi. 

It  was  here  that,  with  all  his  activities,  the  Pasha 
spared  time  to  create  his  earthly  paradise,  where  he 
found  his  only  hobby,  and  spent  the  only  wealth  he 
spared  himself  for  his  personal  enjoyment. 

Many  men,  agents,  servants,  and  others,  and 
the  lady  housekeeper  (come  from  Cairo  to  represent 
the  Lady  Fatma  Hanem,  the  Pasha's  widow,  who 
was  detained  by  illness,  but  sent  the  most  cordial 
messages  of  welcome),  were  in  the  courtyard  to  re- 
ceive us. 

At  the  door  of  the  salemlik,  Basouny  Bey  gave  us 
the  Eastern  greetings,  and  as  we  entered  the  house 
there  settled  upon  us  that  indefinable  content  of  mind 
which  always  makes  the  acceptance  of  hospitality  in 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    99 

the  East  such  a  restful  pleasure.  The  salemlik  is  lofty 
and  vast,  and,  following  the  usual  plan,  has  four  large 
apartments,  one  at  each  corner  leading  out  of  it ; 
these,  with  the  hall  itself,  being  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  guests,  who  thus  have  a  house  of  their  own, 
leaving  the  great  wings  of  the  palace,  its  hareem  and 
the  family  quarters  of  the  men  (with  kitchens  and 
servants'  rooms)  standing  apart,  though  reached  by- 
doors  leading  out  of  the  hall. 

The  whole  house  is  brilliantly  lighted  by  electricity, 
with  many  lustre  chandeliers,  which  Eastern  people 
admire  so  much  that  they  think  Paradise  itself  is  to  be 
illuminated  with  them.  The  wall  and  ceiling  decora- 
tions are  elaborate,  a  special  pride  being  that  they  are 
all  the  work  of  Egyptian  artists  :  it  is  Frenchmen  who 
have  usually  been  employed  on  this  sort  of  work  in 
Egypt. 

Our  bedroom  was  a  great  apartment  with  massive 
furniture,  and  handsome  carpet  and  hangings,  and 
decorated  in  the  same  way  as  the  hall. 

It  had  been  ascertained  by  some  means  in  Cairo 
that  I  usually  dined  at  half-past  seven,  and  in  accordance 
with  the  generous  theory  that  the  palace  for  the  time 
being  was  mine,  a  great  banquet  was  prepared  for  that 
hour,  which  is  a  good  deal  later  than  the  usual  Moslem 
time  of  taking  the  last  meal. 

Again  all  the  delicacies  of  the  East  were  put  before 
us,  with  a  choice  of  European  table  waters ;  in  the 
background — so  far  is  Moslem  hospitality  superior  even 
to  the  tenets  of  the  religion — there  was  wine  and  whisky 
(the  latter  word  is  like  a  label  on  all  Englishmen  in 
Egypt),  although  relief  manifested  itself  when  it  was 
found  that  I  required  neither.  Dinner  was  served  in 


TOO        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

one  of  our  four  rooms,  and  the  servants  set  apart  for  our 
personal  use  waited  upon  us. 

In  the  salemlik,  after  dinner,  the  doctor,  in  conversa- 
tion, told  us  that  the  late  Pasha  was  famous  even  amongst 
Moslems  for  hospitality  ;  his  desire  that  this  house  of  his 
should  never  fall  short  of  Arab  ideals  being  so  great, 
that  in  one  of  his  bequests  he  left  a  sum  equal  to  about 
£3  a  day  to  be  spent  on  entertaining  at  this  palace,  to 
be  increased  to  £6  a  day  in  the  month  of  Rhamadan. 
Such  a  quiet  place  as  this  palace  would  be  used  in  the 
month  of  the  fast  as  a  sort  of  religious  retreat  by  a  great 
number  of  the  Pasha's  pious  friends — hence  the  increased 
allowance. 

We  retired  about  nine  o'clock  ;  from  what  I  knew 
of  my  hosts,  I  was  sure  they  would  wish  to  be  in  the 
village  mosque  before  daybreak — the  sunrise  was  about 
six  o'clock — so  the  custom  was  "  early  to  bed." 

Half  an  hour  later,  on  opening  my  bedroom  door, 
I  saw  that  my  house  was  in  darkness  but  for  the  light  of 
a  small  lantern,  and  that  my  two  men-servants  were 
already  curled  up  and  asleep  on  their  mats  in  view  of 
my  door.  The  only  preparation  for  sleep  they  needed 
was  to  remove  their  slippers,  and  in  place  of  turbans 
put  on  the  little  white  skull-cap  with  openwork  edge 
which  native  servants  sleep  in  and  often  retain  at  their 
work  in  the  mornings.  This  same  cap  is  worn  by  gentle- 
men, in  the  privacy  of  their  families,  who  are  never  seen 
by  Europeans,  indoors  or  out,  without  the  scarlet  tar- 
boosh. At  no  moment  is  the  head  of  the  Eastern  man 
left  uncovered,  except  in  the  bath  and  at  the  barber's. 
An  exception  to  this  rule  is  now  made  at  the  secondary 
boys'  schools,  where  the  introduction  of  football 
has  led  the  players  to  appear  in  the  field  bareheaded. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    101 

My  observation  leads  me  to  think  that  the  theory  of 
the  "  no  hat  "  brigade  of  England  is  wrong  in  its  con- 
tention that  to  cover  the  head  destroys  the  hair.  I 
have  seen  many  uncovered  Egyptians'  heads  of  all  ages, 
in  the  home  and  in  the  baths,  and  I  have  never  seen 
anywhere  finer  or  more  abundant  hair. 

The  next  morning,  after  a — providentially — slight 
breakfast,  we  inspected  the  house  and  grounds,  chatting 
with  the  many  retainers  of  all  sorts — it  must  be  re- 
membered that  we  are  in  Islam,  where  the  humblest 
negro  servant  takes  an  interest  in  and  shakes  hands  with 
his  master's  guests — and  strolled  about  the  village. 

Our  host,  the  Bey,  was  busy  meantime  with  the 
managers  of  the  vast  estates,  his  work  having  begun  at 
the  close  of  the  daybreak  prayer  ;  his  administration 
being  famous,  I  had  heard,  for  thoroughness  and  justice. 
In  addition  to  the  Pasha's  trusteeship,  he  has  large 
estates  of  his  own  in  both  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt ; 
only  a  man  with  great  organising  abilities  and  immense 
application  could  cope  with  such  responsibilities.  He 
has  eight  sons  to  train  and  educate,  vigorous  lads  who 
claim  a  good  deal  of  attention,  and  whose  independent 
judgment  as  to  the  careers  they  want  to  follow  is 
diversified  enough  to  take  one  of  them  to  Al  Azar  for  the 
long  theological  course,  one  to  France  for  Law,  another 
to  England  for  the  study  of  commerce  and  political 
economy,  and  another  to  a  scientific  study  of  agri- 
culture. 

And  now  we  are  to  visit  the  garden,  for  the  beautiful 
gardens  surrounding  the  palace,  mostly  hareem  to  the 
ladies  of  the  household  when  in  residence,  did  in  no 
way  fulfil  the  Pasha's  passion  for  this  hobby.  Carriages 
appear,  and  we  set  off  to  drive  a  couple  of  miles  through 


loz         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  rich  fields  of  the  Delta,  in  the  direction  of  the 
tributary  of  the  Nile,  the  proximity  of  water  being 
the  reason  for  this  Eden  of  beauty  and  delight  being 
separated  so  far  from  the  palace. 

I  knew  that  the  extent  of  the  garden  was  eighty 
feddans,  and  that  it  produced  flowers  of  all  sorts,  and 
fruits  in  abundance  and  of  marvellous  rarity,  but  I  was 
not  prepared  for  such  a  vision  of  cultivated  beauty  as 
burst  upon  us  as  soon  as  we  passed  through  the  gate  in 
the  high  wall  that  surrounds  the  garden. 

I  have  seen  many  magnificent  gardens.  I  have 
spent  many  an  hour  of  entrancement  in  the  shades  of 
that  cool  oasis,  in  the  shadowless  desert,  over  which 
Mr.  Kitchens  has  thrown  the  spell  of  his  genius  in 
The  Garden  of  Allah ;  but  I  have  never  seen  a  spot 
like  this.  The  glory  of  the  desert  garden  at  Biskra  is 
that  in  the  barren  sand,  under  a  tropical  sun,  a  man 
produced  cool  shades,  trickling  waters,  a  harbourage 
for  man  in  which  the  fierceness  of  the  sun  could  be 
escaped  by  means  of  such  glorious  vegetation  as  would 
not  grow  without  its  aid.  But  it  is  not  a  garden  of 
flowers  or  of  fruits. 

I  have  spent  delightful  hours,  too,  in  that  wonderful 
garden  at  La  Mortola,  in  Italy,  over  which  the  late 
Sir  Thomas  Hanbury  spent  the  devotion  of  a  lifetime, 
in  creating  a  garden  of  exotic  plants  which,  in  point  of 
richness  and  interest,  has  no  rival  in  the  world. 

This  Egyptian  garden  is  different  from  these,  with 
a  unique  character.  In  the  Pasha's  garden,  in  addition 
to  the  wealth  of  flowers,  all  the  world  is  made  to  pay 
tribute  in  adding  to  its  beauty  and  its  cool  depths  of 
shade,  trees  bearing  the  rarest  fruits,  so  that  at  every 
season  of  the  year  it  offers  a  delicious  feast  to  the  visitor, 


I 


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HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     103 

while,  at  the  same  time,  all  its  miles  of  walks  are  bordered 
with  beautiful  flowers,  chosen — as  an  Oriental  always 
chooses  flowers — for  the  fragrance  of  their  scents. 

These  same  walks  are  cunningly  shaded  by  endless 
perspectives  of  pergolas,  over  which  a  bewildering 
variety  of  grape  vines  grow,  so  that  in  winter  you  may 
enjoy  the  sun,  and  in  summer  they  become  the  coolest 
of  green  tunnels.  In  the  autumn,  as  the  foliage  turns 
to  those  shades  of  yellow  and  red  which  the  vine  leaf 
alone  knows  the  secret  of,  and  the  luscious  fruit,  varying 
from  the  small  black  grape  to  a  variety  of  grape  almost 
as  long  as  a  man's  finger,  hangs  invitingly  on  all  sides, 
this  must  be  an  Eden  indeed. 

In  the  centre  of  the  garden  is  a  large  trellised  pavilion, 
also  vine  covered,  with  seats  and  a  central  table  under 
which  the  running  waters  of  the  little  canals,  coursing 
in  all  directions  through  the  garden,  meet  with  a  pleasant 
swish.  Here  a  large  framed  portrait  of  the  Pasha  is 
hung,  to  remind  those  who  enjoy  the  garden  of  the  man 
who  made  it. 

It  is  true  to  say  that  with  him  this  glorious  enclosure, 
which  he  found  a  common  field,  and  turned  into  a  place 
of  Elysian  delights,  was  the  consoling  passion  of  a  life, 
which,  though  men  envied,  yet  had  the  most  poignant 
sorrows. 

Every  morning,  without  fail,  he  would  be  in  the 
garden  with  the  sunrise  ;  sometimes  he  would  make 
here  his  first  prayer  before  the  day  had  really  begun. 
It  was  only  under  a  loving  care  like  his  that  such  a 
creation  was  possible  :  wealth  alone  could  not  have 
done  it.  Although  wealth  could  bring  treasures  of  fruit 
and  flowers  from  all  the  earth,  it  could  not  make  them 
grow  as  they  grow  here. 


104        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

In  this,  too,  he  could  not  bear  to  think  that  when 
death  overtook  him  his  work  would  cease.  The  enor- 
mous surplus  produce  of  these  cherished  acres,  by  his 
will,  may  be  sold — the  water-melons  alone  in  the  season 
are  a  most  valuable  asset,  for  there  are  none  in  Egypt  like 
them — but  every  piastre  produced  must  return  again 
to  the  garden,  to  keep  it  fit  and  beautiful.  And  here, 
again,  the  Bey  is  the  trusted  steward,  the  perfect  state 
of  the  garden  being  witness  to  his  stewardship. 

From  the  pavilion  many  of  the  pergolas  converged, 
green  avenues — the  vines  were  just  coming  into  leaf — 
all  bordered  with  lovely  flowers.  Walking  in  another 
direction  we  found  rustic  bridges  over  the  watercourses, 
and  smaller  summer-houses,  with  tributary  pergolas 
connecting  the  main  avenues.  Here  and  there  Arab 
gardeners  were  at  work,  for  the  fruit  trees,  which  make 
a  miniature  forest  of  the  spaces  between  the  pergolas, 
need  much  attention  in  the  early  spring. 

All  the  air  was  filled  with  the  scent  of  the  flowers. 
Could  this  be  February,  while  we,  in  the  hot  golden 
sunshine,  were  in  the  midst  of  roses  in  great  masses, 
with  freezia,  heliotrope,  honeysuckle,  violets  in  wide 
patches,  and  stocks  on  every  side.  The  gorgeousness 
of  one  or  two  scentless  flowers  had  gained  them  admission 
— the  great  African  marigold,  the  resplendent  point- 
settia,  the  robust  and  flaming  geraniums,  adding  colour 
to  the  scene  ;  while  by  the  water-edge  the  graceful 
irises  were  growing  as  naturally  and  profusely  as  though 
nature  had  planted  them.  To  atone  for  these  scentless 
things,  there  was  an  abundance  of  the  white  and  yellow 
jasmine,  which  must  be  known  as  it  grows  in  Egypt 
by  anyone  who  would  understand  the  ecstasy  of  sweet 
scent.  I  am  not  surprised  that  Eastern  men  carry  the 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE     105 

essence  of  this  flower  about  with  them,  and  offer  a 
touch  of  it  to  their  friends,  in  the  spirit  in  which  friends 
in  England  offer  a  cigarette. 

In  a  remote  corner  near  the  river  we  found — such 
prosaic  things  does  earthly  beauty  depend  upon — an 
engine  shed,  a  great  modern  pump,  a  stack  of  English 
coal,  with  a  blue-jacketed  engineer  and  his  assistant. 
With  water  and  such  soil  as  this  part  of  Lower  Egypt  is 
rich  in,  and  the  perfect  climate,  all  things  are  possible 
to  horticultural,  as  to  agricultural,  skill.  One  of  the 
uses  of  the  Pasha's  immense  fortune  had  been  to  prove 
what  untold  benefits  the  application  of  science,  in 
irrigation,  as  in  other  ways,  are  possible  of  realisation 
in  Egypt. 

By  one  of  the  green  alleys  we  were  brought  back 
to  the  central  pavilion,  where  we  found  that  a  banquet 
of  fruit  had  been  spread  for  our  delectation,  with  a 
gorgeous  basket  of  flowers  made  up,  basket  and  all  in 
Oriental  fashion,  by  the  gardeners — to  the  chief  of 
whom  we  were  now  introduced,  the  man  who,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Pasha,  had  helped  in  the  creation 
of  the  garden  from  the  beginning.  Here  were  ripe 
strawberries,  guavas,  luscious  Japanese  medlars,  a  sweet 
little  cherrylike  fruit  called  nabk,  bananas  of  kinds  so 
rare  as  never  to  be  seen  in  the  market,  the  paw-paw, 
cool  as  snow,  and  oranges  of  the  choicest  sorts  grown, 
with  other  fruits  quite  unknown  to  us — surely  a  meal 
fit  for  the  gods. 

As  all  things  earthly  must  end,  and  even  such  a 
garden  as  this  is  bounded  by  mundane  conditions,  the 
time  came  at  last  when  we  had  to  pass  through  the  gate 
and  out  into  the  ordinary  world. 

We  were  driven  back  to  the  palace  for  lunch.     The 


106        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

doctor  had  been  to  the  garden  with  us  and  had,  I  found, 
missed  his  midday  prayer — which  must  be  said  between 
the  time  the  sun  begins  to  incline  towards  the  west, 
and  the  time  when  the  shadow  of  a  person  shall  be  the 
length  of  his  own  stature.  I  do  not  know  if  he  measured 
the  shadow,  but  with  the  simplest  naivete  he  said  to 
me  in  the  hall — "  I  must  pray."  A  servant  brought  the 
usual  brass  jug  and  basin  for  his  ablutions,  and  there,  in 
the  salemlik,  forgetful  of  all  men,  Christian  and  Moslem, 
he  made  his  prayer.  From  the  distant  divan  to  which 
I  retired,  I  could  hear  the  fervour  of  his  undertones. 

This  noon  prayer  consists  of  four  rikas ;  the  two 
voluntary  rikas,  usually  performed,  he  omitted,  because 
of  his  duty  to  guests,  as  he  explained.  I  was  glad  my 
presence  did  not  prevent  him  from  making  the  proper 
prayer.  He  is  a  gentle  and  kindly  man,  with  a  great 
underlying  sadness  which  a  humorous  temper  does 
not  disguise  from  his  friends.  He  had  told  me  that 
but  for  his  religion  he  would  find  life  a  hopeless  dis- 
appointment. 

When,  after  lunch,  we  made  our  adieus,  and  started 
for  the  station,  we  were  laden  with  flowers,  so  that 
we  looked  like  a  bridal  party.  We  also  carried  to  the 
hospital,  at  Tanta,  a  wealth  of  flowers  and  fruit,  to  add 
to  the  countless  petitions  for  blessings  asked  there  by 
grateful  patients  for  the  soul  of  the  Pasha,  whose  works, 
in  a  full  measure,  live  after  him. 

At  my  request  the  Bey  had  allowed  a  clerk  of  the 
estate  to  copy  the  remarkable  Menshawi  will,  many  of 
the  clauses  of  which,  I  think,  must  be  deeply  interesting, 
especially  to  any  student  of  modern  Islam ;  as  it  seems 
to  me  to  throw  a  unique  light  upon  many  Oriental 
ways  and  thoughts,  I  give  most  of  its  details  here. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    107 

The  land  bequeathed  is  about  6000  feddans,  with  all 
their  water-pumps,  engines,  etc.,  at  Tanta  and  Santa. 
The  charities  are  as  follows  : — 

Income  of  100  feddans  to  the  schools  of  the  Orwa 
Al-Woskha  Moslem  Society. 

Income  of  100  feddans  for  the  Mohammed  Ali 
Industrial  School,  Alexandria. 

Income  of  69  feddans  for  the  new  Ahmedy 
Mosque  at  Tanta  ;  about  120  piastres  (a 
piastre  is  2^d.)  daily  for  bread  for  the 
ulemas *  and  students.  The  remainder  to 
be  spent  in  clothing  the  poor  known  to  the 
ulemas.  Clothes  are  to  be  given  to  200 
poor  persons,  male  and  female  ;  thin  cloth 
in  summer,  and  warm  cloth  in  winter,  the 
exact  details  of  which  are  stated, 
to  be  spent  annually  in  providing  meat  and 
bread  for  the  poor  who  celebrate  the 
moolids  (birthdays  of  the  Prophet  and 
Saints)  at  the  palace  of  the  late  Pasha. 

^33  to  be  spent  annually  for  those  who  read 
certain  Koranic  passages  every  month,  and 
for  those  who  recite  the  whole  of  the  Koran, 
at  the  tomb  of  their  benefactor.2 

£6  a  year  for  those  who  recite  the  suras  of  Yasin 
and  Tabark  and  Samadieh  daily  at  the  grave 
of  the  deceased.3 

1  Ulemas  are  learned  men  and  teachers. 

8  It  is  usual  to  recite  passages  in  praise  of  God,  and  in  thanksgiving  to 
Him,  at  the  tomb  of  relatives  and  friends,  where  God  is  asked  to  bless 
the  dead. 

3  The  first  two  of  these  suras  are  read  near  the  tombs,  because  they 
make  mention  of  death,  of  good  deeds,  and  of  Paradise.  Samadieh  is 
Sura  cxii. 

"  Say  ;  He  is  God  alone, 
God,  the  Eternal ! 

He  begetteth  not,  and  He  is  not  begotten  ; 
And  there  is  none  like  unto  Him." 


io8        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OP  EGYPT 

£200  to  be  distributed  annually  in  bread  among 
the  poor  ulemas  and  students  at  the  Mosque 
of  Sidi  Ibrahim  Al  Desuky,  Desuk ;  being 
about  50  occas  (an  occa  is  about  i\  Ibs.)  of 
bread  daily. 

.£50  to  be  distributed  yearly  amongst  those  who 
recite  the  Koran  at  the  Mosque  of  Desuk. 

^250  annually  to  be  given  in  bread  (about  fifty 
occas  daily)  for  the  ulemas  and  students  at 
Damietta. 

.£1326  yearly  to  be  spent  in  celebrating  religious 
ceremonies  at  the  mosque  of  the  late  Pasha, 
as  salaries  of  ulemas  and  servants  of  the 
mosque,  cost  of  fruit,  sweets,  and  ice ;  and 
of  this  ^366  for  the  cost  of  bread  given  to 
the  ulemas  and  students  of  the  same  mosque 
(about  one  hundred  occas  daily). 

^454  spent  annually  for  those  who  recite  the 
Koran  at  the  grave  of  the  deceased  ;  and 
also  for  buying  mats  and  carpets,  candles 
and  oil  for  the  tomb. 

£52  for  distribution  at  the  cemetery  among  the 
poor  ;  £2  to  be  spent  in  buying  dates. 

.£100  to  be  distributed  at  the  Bairam  Feast  to 
poor  widows  and  orphans. 

.£100  for  the  cost  of  cattle,  whose  flesh  is  given  to 
the  poor  at  the  feast  of  the  Courban  Bairam. 

^50  annually  for  those  who  recite  the  Koran 
once  every  day  at  Ishnawi,  at  the  grave  of 
the  Pasha's  parents. 

£600  a  year  to  buy  clothes  for  a  thousand  persons 
(poor,  orphans  and  the  like)  for  the  Bairam 
and  Courban  feasts. 

^24  a  year  to  buy  bread  for  dogs. 

for  the  ulemas  and  students  of  the  Ahmedy 
Mosque  ;  £72  being  for  bread  for  those  who 
recite  the  Koran  in  the  mosque. 


HOME-LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE    109 

.£1000  a  year  for  the  support  of  the  kuttabs  (Koran 
schools)  founded  by  the  late  Pasha  in  the 
places  where  he  had  estates. 

.£600  a  year  to  be  spent  in  training  religious 
preachers,  whose  duty  it  will  be  to  teach 
the  masses  of  the  people. 

£1000  to  be  spent  on  the  keeping  and  repairing 
of  the  mosques  of  the  late  Pasha. 

£2000  to  be  given  annually  to  the  Menshawi 
Hospital  at  Tanta. 

.£1500  a  year  for  the  support  of  the  almhouses — 
Takieh — at  Tanta  ;  a  certain  amount  of  this 
for  the  help  of  poor  pilgrims. 

£2000  a  year  to  be  given  to  the  dependent 
relatives  of  Ottoman  soldiers  who  die  in 
war  for  the  Empire ;  with  a  certain  amount 
to  assist  the  development  of  the  Hejaz 
Railway  (to  Mecca). 

.£400  a  year  to  support  the  school  for  boys,  given 
by  the  Pasha  to  the  Mohammedan  Bene- 
volent Society ;  and  ^450  a  year  to  the 
Waton  School,  Cairo,  of  the  same  Society. 

.£400  a  year  for  the  support  of  a  school  for  girls, 
given  to  the  Orwa  Al-Woskha  Society  ;  and 
£50  to  the  Hosn  Al-Moserrat  School,Zagazig, 
of  the  same  Society. 

.£400  a  year  to  the  Tanta  Government  School, 
as  fees  for  a  certain  number  of  poor  pupils. 

.£400  yearly  to  the  Porter's  School,  Alexandria 
Customs,  and  the  mosque  connected  with  it. 

£37°°  yearly  to  the  Industrial  School  founded 
by  the  late  Pasha,  at  Santa  ;  and  for  the 
training  of  poor  girls  who  are  to  be  taught 
until  they  are  married. 

.  £160  a  year  to  the  Ittihad  School  at  Mansura. 

For  every  feddan  left  to  relatives  or  friends  one 
pound  yearly  is  to  be  taken,  and  the  capital 


no        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

sum  is  to  be  trusted  to  some  firm  at  Tanta, 
that  those  who  are  in  need  may  borrow  from 
it  without  interest. 

.£4000  a  year  to  be  distributed  annually  amongst 
the  poor  peasants  of  the  Pasha's  estates. 

.£400  annually  to  the  ulemas  of  Bokhara,  who 
must  send  ^500  a  year  to  each  of  the  follow- 
ing hospitals  and  dispensaries  in  Egypt : — 
The  German,  the  Russian,  the  Italian,  the 
Greek,  the  French,  the  Austrian,  and  the 
English. 


BOOK   II 

REFLECTIONS  AND   OBSERVATIONS 
IN  THE  MOSQUES 


Fools  exalt  the  mosque  and  ignore  the  true  temple  in  the  heart." 

Masnavi  I  Ma'  Navi. 


CHAPTER   I 

"  The  Imam,  or  the  Khateeb,  would  then  give  a  short  verbal  explana- 
tion of  the  chapter  just  read,  or  at  times  an  extemporary  sermon,  but 
sitting  and  in  a  familiar  way.  I  have  often  heard  much  good  sense  and 
practical  morality  enounced  on  these  occasions." 

Palgrave,  Through  Central  and  Eastern  Arabia,  p.  121. 

IT  is  the  Moslem's  duty  to  pray  "  when  night  hath 
fallen."  This  evening  with  an  Egyptian  friend  I  am 
to  go  to  the  Mosque  Kekhia,  to  see  the  prayer,  as  I 
particularly  want  to  hear  one  of  the  preaching  sheikhs 
giving  moral  instruction  in  a  mosque,  and  to-night 
Sheikh  Mustapha  Amir  is  to  speak  there. 

It  is  a  strange  sensation  to  leave  the  main  European 
street  of  Cairo,  with  its  bustle  and  noise,  its  cosmo- 
politan crowds,  its  insistent  street  merchants,  and  its 
crowded  French  cafes,  in  which  the  modern  effendi 
fancies  himself  to  be  enjoying  the  highest  civilised 
pleasure,  and  by  a  slight  turn  at  the  corner  of  the  road, 
up  a  short  flight  of  stone  steps,  to  enter  upon  a  scene  a 
thousand  years  removed  from  all  the  life  outside. 

I  am  wearing  a  tarboosh,  and  am  counselled  by  the 
Moslem  friend  who  was  with  me  to  speak  no  word  of 
English,  for  it  is  an  unknown  thing  for  a  Christian  to 
visit  the  mosques  as  I  am  doing.  I  have  the  permission 
of  the  sheikh,  and  I  am  known  to  the  authorities  as  a 
friend,  but  there  are  the  people  to  consider,  and  un- 
necessary risks  are  best  avoided,  as  I  do  not  want  my 
inquiries  to  be  impeded. 

It  is  interesting,  in  view  of  the  experiences  in  town 
8 


ii4        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

and  country  which  I  relate  in  this  chapter,  to  read  in 
Lord  Milner's  book  on  Egypt  :  "  Everyone  knows  how 
deep  a  prejudice  exists  in  Mohammedan  countries 
against  the  presence  of  a  Christian  in  a  mosque.  In 
the  cities  it  is  wearing  off,  but  in  the  country  districts 
it  is  as  strong  as  ever — where  it  is  an  unheard-of  thing 
that  a  Christian  should  be  present  at  a  Mohammedan 
ceremony,  more  than  unheard-of  that  he  should  be 
present  at  the  -instance  of  the  Moslem  worshippers 
themselves." 

I  wanted  to  imagine  that  there  was  no  risk,  but  a 
friend  has  laughingly  told  me  that  only  a  few  months 
since  the  son  of  the  Sheikh  El  Islam — the  highest 
dignitary — was  passing  a  poor  suburban  mosque  in 
Cairo,  in  what  we  should  call  a  slum,  and,  as  it  was 
prayer-time,  entered  and  took  his  place  for  devotion. 
A  man  of  rough  temper  growled  at  the  appearance  of 
such  a  well-dressed  person  ;  another  ruffian  answered 
the  growl — possibly  the  European  clothes  of  the  stranger 
excited  the  flame  of  resentment — in  less  than  a  minute 
hands  were  laid  on  him,  he  was  mildly  chastised,  and 
forcibly  put  out  into  the  street.  There  were  explana- 
tions in  a  day  or  two,  and  the  young  gentleman  re- 
appeared at  the  mosque  and  made  one  of  the  stated 
prayers,  very  acceptably  to  the  congregation,  as  a  sign 
of  goodwill.  Forgiveness  is  highly  valued  by  Eastern 
folk.  One  of  the  chief  joys  of  Paradise  will  be  that 
old  friends  will  be  reunited,  and  old  resentments 
forgotten. 

I  can  say,  however,  that  I  never  felt  any  apprehension 
at  entering  a  mosque  under  any  circumstances,  even  in 
the  most  reserved  of  sacred  places,  where  I  knew  that 
an  alien  foot  had  never  before  been  placed.  I  never 


Photo} 


DOME  AND  MINARET. 


[Lekegian,  Cairo. 


When  a  mosque  has  a  dome  of  this  sort  it  indicates  that  it  is  the  burial-place  of  a 
distinguished  person. 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       115 

entered  a  mosque  at  prayer-time  without  the  consent 
and  countenance  of  the  chief  ,sheikh.  I  studied  every 
Moslem  habit  and  custom  which  would  help  me  to 
avoid  offence  and  not  to  attract  attention.  If  I  was 
keen  to  observe  every  detail,  I  tried  to  look  incurious 
and  at  ease  ;  to  be  certain  and  direct,  while  very  quiet, 
in  all  movements. 

Here  was  I,  in  stockinged  feet,  on  the  carpet  of  the 
Mosque  Kekhia,  in  Sharia  Kamel,  a  street  only  a  stone's- 
throw  from  the  Opera-House  in  Cairo.  The  darkness 
was  only  relieved  by  the  light  of  two  oil  lamps  in  large 
lanterns,  of  tin  and  glass,  which  hung  from  the  roof. 
The  rich  brown  stone  walls,  and  the  crimson  carpet, 
and  the  mysterious  figures  of  men  in  Eastern  garb, 
coming  in  to  their  prayers,  made  a  picture  that  was 
impressively  beautiful. 

With  soft  tread  we  gained  a  partly  retired  spot,  near 
one  of  the  great  pillars,  in  the  centre  of  the  mosque, 
and  as  my  friend  made  his  evening  prayer,  I  sat  still  on 
the  carpet.  This  is  a  mosque  in  which  the  prayers  are 
made  by  each  worshipper  separately,  and  are  not  led  by 
an  Imam,  except  of  course  the  Friday  noonday  prayer, 
which  is  always  so  led.  And  as  many  Moslems  go  into 
the  mosque,  not  only  for  prayer  but  to  sit  quietly  and 
reflect  on  spiritual  things,  or  to  ask  advice  of  a  sheikh 
whom  they  expect  to  find  there,  or  even  to  converse  in 
an  undertone  with  friends,  my  sitting  there  was  not 
remarkable.  Many  small  groups  of  men  were  sitting 
as  I  was  on  the  carpet,  happy  simply  to  be  with  friends, 
or  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  the  sheikh  who  was  to 
speak  when  the  hour  of  evening  prayer  had  passed. 

To  pray  in  a  certain  mosque  becomes  a  firm  bond 
between  friends  ;  and  as  the  irreligious  know  where  to 


n6        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

find  an  acquaintance  by  the  cafe  he  frequents,  so  the 
pious  make  their  mosques  a  meeting-place  with  such 
regularity  at  the  daily  prayers  that  a  man's  absence  is  at 
once  remarked,  and  duty  demands  immediate  inquiry ; 
so  that,  if  sickness  or  trouble  have  overtaken  him,  he 
may  be  visited  in  his  home  and  helped. 

Here,  on  the  floor  of  this  mosque,  is  a  demonstration 
of  the  simplicity  and  the  equality  which  run  through 
the  whole  Islamic  system,  in  spite  of  any  of  its  glaring 
contradictions  and  exceptions.  Close  by  me  is  a  group 
of  fellaheen,  in  their  blue  galabiehs  and  brown  felt 
skull-caps ;  near  these,  a  well-to-do  young  man,  in  brown 
silk  robe  with  fez  and  white  turban,  probably  a  native 
teacher  in  one  of  the  primary  schools  ;  here  is  a  serving- 
man  from  one  of  the  neighbouring  hotels,  in  the  white 
shirt  and  scarlet  waistband,  with  his  scarlet  leather 
babooshes  (shoes)  by  his  side.  This  is  no  mosque,  by 
the  way,  for  tourists  and  sightseers  who  leave  their  shoes 
with  a  guardian  at  the  door  and  paddle  about  in  slippers. 
We  carry  our  shoes  in  with  us,  and  place  them,  sole 
to  sole,  beside  us — to  place  mine  with  the  soles  on  the 
carpet  would  have  betrayed  me. 

A  young  effendi  comes  in,  in  European  dress,  except, 
of  course,  for  the  tarboosh,  with  his  old-fashioned 
father,  in  the  black  robe  and  turban.  On  the  other 
side  of  me  stands  a  poor  labourer,  fresh  from  the  ablu- 
tions in  the  fountain  court  of  the  mosque,  the  water  still 
dripping  on  the  carpet  from  his  head,  hands,  and  feet, 
while  his  wet  brown  flesh  shines  in  the  lamplight.  A 
rich  man,  whose  silk  robe  is  not  kind  to  his  portliness, 
enters  with  his  servant,  and  they  make  the  prayer  side 
by  side.  Here  is  a  poor  old  man  to  whom  the  attitudes 
and  movements  of  the  prayer  have  become  difficult, 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       117 

but  who  yet  goes  through  his  devotions  with  intense 
fervour,  and  then  sits  with  his  hands  as  a  cup  upon  his 
breast  for  a  long  time,  muttering  his  private  devotions  ; 
the  "  amen  "  being  to  stroke  the  face  downwards  with 
the  inside  of  the  hands. 

Quiet  amusement  is  caused  to  those  of  us  who  are 
sitting  here — those  engaged  in  prayer  spare  nothing 
of  their  absorption  to  notice  anything  of  what  happens 
— at  the  appearance  of  a  small  boy,  of  possibly  seven  or 
eight  years  of  age,  who  walks  into  the  middle  of  the 
floor  straight  in  front  of  the  Kibla — the  prayer-direction 
towards  Mecca — and  by  watching  the  men  succeeds 
in  making  the  prayer  fairly  correctly,  failing  chiefly  in 
that  concentration  which  does  not  allow  of  any  turning 
of  the  head. 

Another  picturesque  note  is  added  by  two  or  three 
students  from  Al  Azar,  in  the  special  scarlet  fez  with 
tassel  and  the  small  white  turban  ;  while  a  number  of 
the  Nubian  bowabs  (doorkeepers),  who  are  so  numerous 
in  Cairo,  where  they  sit  on  benches  at  the  doors  of  all 
important  houses  and  institutions,  in  their  black 
robes,  serve  to  accentuate  the  richness  of  the  general 
colouring. 

After  a  time,  when  most  of  those  present  had  made 
their  prayer,  the  sheikh  arrived,  and  immediately  went 
to  a  low  square  chair  standing  by  one  of  the  pillars — 
not  to  the  pulpit,  which  is  only  used  on  Fridays — on 
which  he  sat,  drawing  up  his  legs  under  the  folds  of  his 
robe.  We  all  got  up  from  our  scattered  places,  and 
gathered  round  him  in  a  squatting  semicircle — perhaps 
about  fifty  of  those  who  had  been  present  staying  for 
the  homily. 

A  lantern  with  one  candle  in  it  was  by  the  sheikh's 


ii8         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

side.  By  the  light  of  this  he  read  a  few  passages  from 
the  Koran,  and  then  proceeded  to  preach  from  them, 
quite  extemporaneously,  in  a  free  manner,  touched  with 
quiet  humour.  His  remarks  were  followed  very  closely, 
especially  by  the  fellaheen  ;  the  faces  of  the  whole 
group,  reflecting  the  beams  of  the  flickering  candle- 
light and  the  dim  glow  from  the  two  hanging  lanterns, 
being  a  most  interesting  study. 

Occasionally  they  assented  to  the  sheikh's  remarks, 
giving  their  "  eiwa  "  (yes  !)  with  smiling  approval. 
Sometimes  they  asked  questions,  to  which  he  gave 
careful  and  patient  answers.  Now  and  then  he  turned 
on  them  with  a  pertinent  question.  "  Is  this  not  so  ?  " 
"  Shall  we  do  or  say  this  ?  "  "  No  !  "  or  "  Yes !  "  as 
the  case  might  be. 

His  subject  was  the  use  and  abuse  of  wealth,  with 
counsel  to  the  poor.  He  pointed  out  how  inexplicable 
the  differences  in  worldly  possessions  must  always  seem. 
To  the  rich,  he  counselled — be  careful  how  you  use 
your  riches,  for  God  will  take  account  ;  and  wealth 
can  only  serve  you  up  to  a  certain  point.  To  the  poor, 
he  said  they  might  be  rich  in  God's  treasures ;  they 
should  by  no  means  neglect  to  strive  for  prosperity,  for 
the  Prophet  said,  "  Honest  wealth  is  good  for  honest 
men  "  ;  but  this  must  not  be  to  the  exclusion  of  their 
religious  and  moral  duties.  Above  all  things,  men  should 
study  to  be  contented,  and  to  seek  peacefulness  of  mind, 
which  is  better  than  riches.  In  every  condition,  they 
must  not  neglect  the  duty  of  giving  alms — holy  Koran 
said,  "  Who  give  alms,  alike  in  prosperity  and  adversity, 
and  who  master  their  anger  and  forgive  others  ?  God 
loveth  these  "  (Sura  iii.  128). 

The  sheikh  spoke  for  about  fifteen  minutes.     When 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       119 

he  had  finished,  he  recited  a  short  sura  from  the  Koran 
and  a  prayer.  All  hands  went  up  to  the  breast,  cuplike, 
as  a  sign  of  faith  that  the  blessing  would  be  received, 
and  at  the  end  the  hands  were  drawn  down  the  face. 

The  sheikh  disappeared  in  the  dimness,  and  we  went 
across  the  soft  carpet  to  the  door,  where,  putting  on 
the  left  shoe  first,  we  put  that  foot  on  to  the  step  over 
the  threshold,  clothed  the  right  foot,  and  in  a  moment 
found  ourselves  again  in  the  modern  world,  hustling 
through  the  crowd,  mostly  of  tourists  and  sight-seers, 
not  one  of  whom  would  guess  that  probably  the  man  so 
smiling  and  alert  who  waited  upon  him  at  his  dinner 
had  come  from  a  scene  which  a  cycle  of  centuries  had 
done  little  to  change. 

Often  in  the  early  morning,  before  the  first  flush 
came  into  the  Eastern  sky,  did  I  hear  the  rich  voice  of 
the  blind  Mueddin  floating  across  the  still  air  from  the 
minaret  of  this  mosque,  singing  the  Ulah,  or  first  Call  to 
Prayer — recalling  to  me,  in  the  half-conscious  moments 
between  sleep  and  waking,  that  I  am  in  Eastern  lands. 
Resonant  and  clear  rang  out  the  words,  "  Allahu  Akbar 
.  .  .  Prayer  is  better  than  sleep  ...  I  testify  that  there 
is  no  God  but  He  ...  I  testify  that  Mohammed  is 
the  apostle  of  God  .  .  .  He  giveth  life  and  He  dieth 
not  .  .  .  Oh  !  the  Bountiful !  .  .  .  Thy  mercy  ceaseth 
not  .  .  .  My  sins  are  great ;  greater  is  Thy  mercy  .  .  . 
I  extol  His  perfection  .  .  .  Allahu  Akbar  !  "  And  as 
the  sweet  cadences  elaborated  in  this  first  call  rose  and 
fell  as  the  Mueddin  moved  from  one  side  of  the  minaret 
to  the  other,  to  call  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world 
beneath  him,  I  thought  that  anyone  hearing  the  sound 
could  not  fail  of  at  least  a  vague  notion  of  the  power  of 
Koranic  Arabic  to  affect  the  mind  of  man. 


120        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

This  preaching  in  the  mosques  in  Egypt  raises  a 
very  important  question,  on  which  there  is  universal 
misapprehension.  For  instance,  Professor  Margoliouth, 
who  writes  a  great  deal  about  Islam,  in  his  latest  book, 
Mohammedanism,  states  that,  as  for  preaching,  there  is 
practically  none  but  formal  repetition  of  old  sermons, 
and  the  preaching  of  the  professional  dervish. 

Doubtless  this,  with  other  misapprehensions,  come 
from  the  reticence  of  the  Moslems  towards  the  inquiries 
of  strangers,  and  their  aversion  to  the  presence  at  their 
services  of  those  not  of  their  faith.  At  every  turn  I 
found  that  personal  contact  reveals  things  which  are 
unknown  to  those  who  have  only  book  knowledge  of 
this  subject,  however  profound  this  may  be. 

The  question  of  preaching,  for  instance,  has  for  a 
long  time  been  engaging  the  attention  of  the  leaders 
of  Islam  in  Egypt,  with  the  result  that  there  is  now 
much  moral  teaching,  such  as  I  have  heard  this  evening, 
as  well  as  many  eloquent  and  original  preachers  who 
occupy  the  pulpits  at  the  Friday  prayer.  There  are 
several  mosques  in  Cairo  which  are  always  closely  crowded 
on  Friday  by  men  who  choose  to  make  the  noonday 
prayer  there  because  of  the  fame  of  the  preachers. 

The  Sheikh  Mustaph  Amir  is  one  of  several  teachers 
who  every  day  go  from  one  mosque  to  another  in  a 
regular  order  to  speak  to  the  worshippers  after  the 
four  chief  prayers :  the  one  at  noon,  due  at  the  time 
the  sun  begins  to  incline  towards  the  west,  and  closing 
when  the  shadow  of  a  person  shall  be  the  length  of  his 
own  stature.  After  teaching  in  one  mosque  at  this 
time,  he  will  rest  till  the  afternoon  prayer  at  another — 
due  when  the  sun  begins  to  assume  a  yellow  appearance.^ 
At  the  moment  the  sun  sets,  and  until  the  redness  of 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       121 

the  glow  disappears  from  the  horizon,  is  the  time  of 
evening  prayer,  and  the  sheikh  will  speak  again  ;  going 
on  to  another  mosque  "  when  night  hath  fallen,"  as 
we  have  seen  him.  It  will  be  realised  what  a  great 
number  of  men  must  be  reached  in  this  way. 

So  important  is  this  question  of  preaching  regarded 
to  be  now,  that  in  Cairo  there  is  a  very  influential  com- 
mittee which  exists  for  the  encouragement  of  good 
preaching.  Prizes  are  offered  to  theological  students 
for  the  best  compositions  suitable  for  delivery  in  the 
mosques,  and  these  are  printed  and  circulated  throughout 
the  country. 

A  short  time  since,  the  Sheikh  of  Tanta  heard  a 
young  sheikh  preach  an  original  sermon  to  a  small 
country  congregation,  and,  recognising  the  preacher's 
gifts  of  genuine  eloquence  and  moral  force,  he  gained 
for  him  promotion  to  a  large  town  mosque.  I  will 
give  later  outlines  of  some  of  the  most  recent  sermons, 
which  will  show  that  moral  teaching  in  Islam  is  be- 
coming general.  There  is  no  doubt  that  for  centuries 
the  sermon  was  confined  to  a  repetition  of  those  soul- 
stirring  discourses  of  the  Prophet  and  the  early  Caliphs, 
as  it  was  thought  wise  to  restrain  the  preachers,  who 
began  to  use  the  pulpit  for  political  and  other  ignoble 
ends ;  but  in  Egypt,  at  least,  that  day  has  passed,  and 
the  authorities  even  go  so  far  as  to  employ  "  mission 
preachers  "  who  go  from  mosque  to  mosque,  and  from 
village  to  village,  calling  men  to  repentance. 

The  Wakfs  Administration  in  Cairo  have  recently 
established  six  additional  itinerant  mission  preachers, 
"  to  travel  throughout  the  country  in  all  the  various 
localities,  especially  those  in  which  there  are  no  teachers, 
to  preach,  to  instruct,  and  to  help  in  the  improvement 


122         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

of  the  moral  condition  of  the  people."  I  quote  from 
the  last  official  report,  in  which  regret  is  expressed  at 
the  difficulty  of  finding  suitable  men  for  such  important 
work.  It  is  amongst  the  students  that  recruits  are  being 
sought.  In  Alexandria  the  Wakfs  have  started  ten 
lecture-rooms,  called  "  Abbassieh,"  with  Koran  readers 
and  teachers,  and  other  sheikhs  to  the  number  of  thirty, 
for  the  moral  help  of  the  people. 

I  met  in  Cairo  one  sheikh  whose  life  is  spent  in  this 
way.  He  is  an  original  and  moving  preacher,  and  it  is 
told  of  him  that  he  was  sent  to  a  certain  province,  where 
crime  had  increased  in  such  a  way  as  to  greatly  perplex 
the  authorities,  and  the  result  of  his  vigorous  preaching 
crusade  was  to  leave  the  district  with  an  almost  clean 
sheet  so  far  as  the  more  serious  offences  were  concerned. 
He  also  visits  the  prisons  and  the  hospitals,  to  cheer  and 
admonish  the  inmates,  his  visits  being  keenly  appreciated. 

I  questioned  this  sheikh  on  the  subject  of  preaching. 
His  answers  were  quite  simple.  The  duty  had  fallen 
into  neglect,  but  it  had  not  ceased  to  be  a  duty.  "  To 
exhort  and  to  assist  the  people  in  doing  good,  and  to 
dissuade  and  whenever  possible  to  prevent  them  from 
doing  evil,"  this  has  always  been  the  duty  of  Moslems. 
There  is  a  definite  term  for  such  service — Hisba  ;  the 
man  who  specially  performs  it  is  called  the  Muhtasib, 
and  to  show  how  much  it  is  a  part  of  Islam,  he  referred 
me  to  the  work  of  the  early  philosopher  and  leader, 
Ghazzali,  who  fully  describes  the  duties  of  the  Muhtasib. 


CHAPTER   II 

"  The  institution  of  prayer  was  jeered  at  by  the  Arabs,  to  whom 
Mohammed  first  delivered  his  message,  and  one  of  the  hardest  parts  of 
his  task  was  to  induce  in  them  that  pious  attitude  of  mind  towards  the 
Creator,  which  Islam  inculcates  equally  with  Judaism  and  Christianity, 
but  which  was  practically  unknown  to  the  heathen  Arabs." 

Arnold,  The  Preaching  of  Islam,  p.  40. 

ON  another  evening  I  went,  by  invitation  of  the  Sheikh 
Mohammed  el  Mahdy,  to  the  Mosque  of  Azabam,  near 
the  city  end  of  the  Mousky,  the  chief  of  the  ancient 
streets  leading  into  the  heart  of  native  Cairo.  It 
is  a  comparatively  new  mosque,  built  by  the  present 
Khedive,  and  although  not  large,  it  is  richly  decorated. 

This  visit  was  more  formidable  than  that  to  the 
Kekhia  Mosque,  for  here  the  five  daily  prayers  are  led 
by  an  Imam,  and  there  is  the  stated  reading  of  the 
Koran  from  the  sura  chair.  Many  Moslem  friends 
assured  me  that  I  was  the  only  professed  Christian  who 
had  ever,  to  their  knowledge,  sat  through  such  a  service 
without  some  sort  of  protest.  Ismail,  who  was  with  me, 
had  some  slight  qualms,  I  think ;  but  as  I  was  received 
at  the  door  of  the  mosque  by  the  sheikh,  who  had  to 
leave  us  after  the  greeting,  I  took  off  my  shoes  and 
quietly  walked  to  a  corner  at  the  back  of  the  mosque 
and  sat  down  in  the  nearest  imitation  of  the  Eastern 
manner  that  I  could,  trusting  to  the  absorption  of  the 
close  rows  of  worshippers  in  front  to  cover  my  failure 
to  take  part  in  the  rikas  or  bowings  and  prostrations 
which  accompany  the  prayer. 


i24        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

The  ceremonial  reading  of  the  Koran  always  thrills 
me.  I  had  never  before  heard  it  in  a  mosque,  and  when 
a  young  sheikh,  who  nimbly  mounted  the  sura  chair, 
began  the  chosen  passages  in  a  sweet  and  resonant 
voice,  and  the  worshippers  exclaimed  at  the  end  of 
each  verse  which  appealed  to  them,  "  Allah  !  Allah  !  " 
as  is  their  custom,  the  impression  of  the  whole  scene — 
the  ordered  crowd  of  men  of  every  condition  of  Eastern 
life,  the  dim  lamplight,  and  the  rich  colouring — became 
deeply  impressive. 

The  manner  of  the  reciting  of  the  Koran  is  the 
subject  of  the  most  particular  and  prolonged  study,  as 
the  inflection  of  each  syllable  must  be  according  to 
clearly  defined  rule.  It  is  not  permissible  for  any 
man  to  read  the  Koran  aloud  who  has  not  been  trained 
to  do  so,  for  fear  of  conveying  a  false  meaning.  In 
fact,  each  word  has  to  be  memorised  from  the  sound  of 
it  conveyed  by  a  teacher  who  has  been  specially  trained  ; 
so  that  the  accredited  readers  in  almost  every  case  know 
the  whole  book  by  rote. 

The  profession  of  Koran  reader  is  most  commonly 
adopted  by  the  intelligent  blind.  The  early  Moslems 
would  have  it  that  the  language  of  the  Koran  must  be 
the  language  of  heaven,  and  very  early  efforts  were  made 
to  preserve  a  uniform  pronunciation.  But  as  Islam 
spread  into  strange  lands,  deviations  from  the  pure 
speech  of  the  people  of  Mecca  crept  in,  owing  in  a 
great  measure  to  the  absence  of  vowel  points  and  other 
diacritical  marks.  E  ventually  the  reading  was  regularised 
by  the  allowance  of  seven  different  readings,  recognised 
by  a  School  of  Readers,  whose  readings  are  now  uni- 
versally accepted  throughout  the  Moslem  world. 

The  sura  this  evening  was  that  beautiful  call  to 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       125 

courage  and  hope,  which  came  to  Mohammed  at  a  time 
of  deep  depression  : — 

"  By  the  noonday  brightness 
And  by  the  night  when  it  darkeneth  ! 

The  Lord  hath  not  forsaken  thee,  neither  hath  He  been  displeased. 
And  surely  the  Future  shall  be  better  for  thee  than  the  Past, 
And  in  the  end  shall  thy  Lord  be  bounteous  to  thee,  and  thou  be 

satisfied. 

Did  He  not  find  thee  an  orphan  and  gave  thee  a  home  ? 
And  found  thee  erring  and  guided  thee  ? 
And  found  thee  needy  and  enriched  thee  ? 
As  to  the  orphan,  therefore  wrong  him  not  ; 
And  as  to  him  who  asketh  of  thee,  chide  him  not  away  ; 
And  as  for  the  favours  of  thy  Lord,  tell  them  abroad." 

(Sura,  xciii.) 

The  reading  must  always  consist  of  at  least  three  verses 
of  a  sura ;  the  one  most  usually  recited  is  Sura  cxii. : 
u  He  is  God  alone.  God  the  Eternal !  He  begetteth 
not  and  is  not  begotten  ;  and  there  is  none  like  unto 
Him."  It  is  recommended  to  read  the  long  suras  at 
the  morning  prayer,  and  the  short  ones  at  the  evening. 

This,  too,  was  the  night  prayer,  which  consists  of 
four  obligatory  rikas,  generally  followed  by  four  further 
voluntary  rikas  (called  Sunna)  made  separately,  when 
the  ranks  formed  for  the  formal  and  liturgical  worship 
are  broken. 

The  Imam  who  was  to  lead  the  prayer  took  his 
place  in  front  of  the  Kibla,  and  with  him,  in  every 
movement,  the  worshippers  became  as  one  man.  To- 
gether they  praised  God — "  God  is  most  high.  .  .  . 
There  is  no  God  but  God  ...  to  God  be  praise." 
They  take  refuge  in  God.  To  Him  they  ascribe  holi- 
ness and  praise  and  greatness.  Together  as  one  man  they 
bow,  and  prostrate  themselves  to  the  ground,  which 
the  forehead  must  touch,  while  again  they  utter  praise. 

After  the  prostration  the  worshipper  raises  his  head 


126        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

and  body,  sinks  backward  on  his  heels,  when,  half-sitting, 
half-kneeling,  he  implores  forgiveness,  "  O  Lord,  for- 
give me,  and  have  mercy  upon  me,  and  grant  me  Thy 
portion,  and  guide  me." 

Each  rika  is  a  repetition,  and  when  all  the  prayers 
are  ended,  the  worshipper  takes  the  half-kneeling  atti- 
tude again,  raises  his  hands  as  high  as  his  chest  with 
the  palms  towards  heaven,  and  offers  up  a  silent  prayer 
in  his  own  words,  at  the  end  of  which  he  draws  his 
hands  over  his  face  as  a  sign  that  he  has  faith  in  the 
granting  of  his  petition,  and  by  this  action  pours  the 
blessing  received  into  the  very  recesses  of  his  being. 
After  a  slight  inclination  of  the  head  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left,  saluting  the  guardian  angels,  and 
must  be  taken  also  as  bows  to  the  congregation 
of  Moslems,  he  rises  to  leave.  The  early  morning 
and  the  evening  prayers  are  specially  important, 
because  then  the  guardian  angels  are  changed  who 
attend  on  each  living  soul,  the  one  on  the  right  hand 
to  record  the  good  deeds,  and  the  one  on  the  left,  the 
bad.  When  they  ascend  to  their  Lord  He  asketh 
them,  "  How  did  ye  leave  My  servants  ?  "  It  is  good 
when  they  say  to  their  Lord,  "  We  left  them  praying, 
and  we  came  to  them  when  they  were  praying." 

The  Moslem  friend  who  was  with  me  in  the  mosque 
naturally  had  taken  his  place  in  the  last  row  of 
worshippers,  while  I  sat  a  little  nearer  to  the  back  wall. 
My  conjecture  was  right  that  the  intensity  of  devotion 
which  possesses  a  Moslem  congregation  at  prayer  would 
be  my  best  shield  from  observation. 

It  never  had  been  my  intention  in  Egypt  to  pretend 
to  anything  of  Moslem  worship,  for  the  sake  of  any 
advantage  to  be  gained  in  my  inquiries.  On  this 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       127 

occasion  I  simply  stood  up  when  the  rows  of  men  in 
front  of  me  stood,  and  as  they  kneeled  and  prostrated 
themselves  I  quietly  sat  down  in  the  Eastern  fashion  ; 
with  the  result,  I  believe,  that,  keenly  observant  as  all 
Oriental  people  are,  my  presence  was  undetected. 

There  is  nothing  more  strange  to  the  Western 
observer  than  the  immovable  soberness  and  intentness 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Moslem  at  prayer.  Often  on 
Friday  there  is  an  overflow  of  worshippers  at  the  mosques, 
who  spread  their  prayer-mats  in  the  street,  outside  the 
door,  and  make  the  prayer  in  full  public  view,  while 
all  the  distractions  of  the  street  go  on  unheeded.  I 
have  seen  a  group  of  children  boisterously  playing  under 
the  very  nose  of  such  worshippers,  who  seemed  to  be 
utterly  unconscious  of  their  existence. 

I  was  once  in  the  evening  train  at  Cairo,  waiting  to 
start  for  Alexandria,  when  a  country  Egyptian  of  the 
farming  class  arrived  for  the  same  train.  He  settled  his 
luggage,  and  then,  looking  at  his  watch,  went  on  to  the 
platform,  laid  his  mat  so  that  a  lamp-post  acted  as  his 
Kibla,  and  made  his  evening  prayer  in  the  midst  of  a 
scene  of  bustle  and  noise  and  excitement  which  only 
life  on  an  Eastern  railway  station  can  create — his  expres- 
sion showing  no  consciousness  of  his  surroundings. 

Proper  conduct  in  the  mosque  is  taught  with  the 
earliest  lessons  of  the  child.  So  strict  are  the  rules, 
that  to  laugh  during  the  Friday  prayer  abrogates  the 
prayer,  and  even  requires  fresh  ablutions.  A  man  must 
not  yawn  during  his  prayers.  There  must  be  no  hurry, 
and  no  lounging.  The  first  safe  rule  known  to  Islam 
was  to  recall  in  what  manner  the  Prophet  said  his  prayers, 
and  to  imitate  that.  In  the  picturesque  language  of 
the  East,  a  devout  man  may  not  "  hurry  in  prostration 


128         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

like  a  cock  picking  grain,"  or  spread  his  arms  "  like  a 
dog  or  a  tiger." 

A  curious  rule  at  the  stated  prayers  in  the  mosque 
is,  that  a  man  must  not,  when  prayer  has  begun,  pass 
between  another  man  and  the  Kibla.  The  act  does  not 
nullify  the  prayer,  but  it  is  considered  detrimental, 
and  is  sometimes  bitterly  resented ;  indeed,  in  earlier 
days  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  man  to  draw  his 
sword  upon  the  offender.  A  friend  of  mine  in  this 
very  Mosque  of  Azabam,  in  Cairo,  on  a  feast-day,  when 
there  was  a  great  crowd,  inadvertently  offended  in  this 
way.  He  was  profuse  in  his  submission — "  May  your 
prayers  be  accepted  !  may  you  live  to  pray  at  Mecca  !  " 
is  the  correct  form  of  apology — but  the  offended  man 
could  hardly  be  appeased. 

Before  he  begins  the  prayer,  the  worshipper  says  in  a 
low  voice,  his  hands  close  to  his  side,  "  I  have  purposed 
to  offer  to  God  with  a  sincere  heart,  with  my  face  Kibla- 
wards,  these  prayers."  This  purpose  he  must  constantly 
keep  in  mind  to  the  end. 

It  is  often  asserted  that  the  Moslem  prayer  is  only 
drill — Mr.  Gairdner  says  this  in  his  latest  writings. 
The  Rev.  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  goes  further,  and  says  the 
prayers  are  not  only  formal,  but  puerile.  I  can  only 
assert  that  all  my  experience  leads  me  to  a  contrary 
opinion,  supported  by  the  observation  of  travellers  and 
others  who  have  lived  amongst  these  people  and  without 
preconception  or  professional  prejudice  have  been  able 
to  penetrate  to  some  degree  the  veil  which  they  throw 
over  their  religious  observances  when  they  suspect  any 
want  of  sympathy.  More  than  anything,  the  Moslem 
dreads  ridicule  of  his  sacred  observances,  or  the  teaching 
of  the  Prophet.  The  merest  suspicion  of  it  in  the  on- 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       129 

looker,  and  the  chance  of  gaining  any  real  knowledge 
or  understanding  of  either  the  inner  faith  or  the  out- 
ward manifestation  of  his  religion,  becomes  utterly 
impossible.  And  only  those  who  know  the  Orient 
can  understand  how  the  cruder  mind  of  the  Western 
observer  fails  before  the  subtilty  of  the  Eastern  intel- 
ligence when  there  is  anything  to  be  concealed. 

Can  I  ever  forget  the  prayers  of  Islam  as  I  have  seen 
them  offered — in  the  solitude  of  the  desert,  in  the 
country  village,  in  the  market-place,  in  the  vast  mosque 
of  the  city,  or  in  the  humble  meeting-place  of  the 
remote  hamlet  ?  The  evidence  of  a  deep  devotional 
spirit  which  I  have  seen,  the  wrapt  expression  of  a 
thousand  faces  glowing  with  a  solemn  rapture  of  the 
contemplation  of  God  ?  "  Thou  mayest  see  them  bow- 
ing down,  adoring,  craving  grace  from  God  and  His 
goodwill — their  signs  are  on  their  faces  of  the  effects 
of  their  adoration"  (Sura  xlviii.  29). 

If  anything  is  clear  in  the  first  teachings  of  Islam,  it 
is  that  prayer  must  be  from  the  heart.  The  Prophet 
taught  at  all  times  that  of  a  man's  prayers  only  "  such 
as  he  offers  with  understanding  and  true  devotional 
spirit "  are  acceptable  with  God. 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  with  the  wonderful  practical 
wisdom  which  gave  the  Prophet  such  power  with  men, 
he  saw  also  the  physical  importance  of  the  mere  exercise 
of  prayer  as  he  ordered  it.  The  performance  of  the 
five  daily  prayers  could  not  fail  to  have  a  great  deal  to 
do  with  the  splendid  vigour  and  robust  freshness  which 
enabled  the  Arabs  of  the  first  years  of  Islam  to  overrun 
and  conquer  the  world,  as  they  did  in  less  than  a  hundred 
years,  from  Delhi  to  Granada.  In  the  .same  way  it  is 
admitted  that  the  greatly  lengthened  prayer  necessary 
9 


130        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

to  close  the  days  of  Rhamadan,  when  a  very  heavy  meal 
succeeds  the  long  fast  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  has  an 
excellent  effect  in  promoting  digestion,  and  inducing 
sleep  which  would  probably  be  otherwise  delayed. 

The  ablutions,  too,  make  for  health  and  comfort ; 
but  because  they  were  made  compulsory,  it  is  not  to 
be  thought  that  any  of  these  things  in  themselves  are 
sufficient  for  the  true  and  acceptable  approach  to  God. 
All  through  the  teaching  of  Islam  the  theme  runs,  that 
God  judges  motives  and  aspirations,  the  outward  forms 
and  rites  are  of  minor  importance.  The  ablutions  are 
useless  in  your  worship  unless  the  heart  is  cleansed, 
asserts  and  re-asserts  the  great  Imam  al-Ghazzali.  "  'Tis 
the  heart  I  see,"  declares  the  thirteenth-century  mystic, 
Mohammed  Rumi.  "  Fools,"  he  says,  "  exalt  the 
mosque,  and  ignore  the  true  temple  in  the  heart."  Man 
is  not  saved  by  naming  the  divine  names  with  orthodox 
accuracy,  or  by  worshipping  by  exact  rules,  however  fair, 
but  by  heartfelt  love,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  please  God. 

Lady  Duff  Gordon's  devoted  servant  Omar,  so 
sympathetically  drawn  in  her  charming  Letters  from 
Egypt,  said  to  her,  "  I  can't  speak  to  my  God  if  I  do 
bad  things,"  and  this  is  the  spirit  in  which  great  numbers 
of  Moslems  approach  the  worship  of  Allah.  There  are 
formal  worshippers  in  every  religion,  and  perhaps  in 
Islam  formalism  is  easier  in  these  days  of  a  poor  moral 
state,  than  in  other  systems  where  public  opinion  asserts 
itself  to  interfere  with  a  man's  religious  observances  if 
it  does  not  approve  of  his  conduct — which  interference 
is  forbidden  among  Moslems,  for  "  God  only  shall  be  a 
man's  judge  of  his  motives  for  worship."  But  it  is  a 
misjudgment  to  make  the  sweeping  accusation  of  mere 
lifeless  forms  and  blind  imitation. 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       131 

This  charge  takes  no  account  of  the  private  prayer 
which  is  a  large  part  of  the  worship  of  the  devout  Moslem. 
In  many  places  I  have  seen  men  sitting  absorbed  for  long 
periods  in  the  attitude  of  private  prayer  in  the  mosques 
and  in  other  places.  A  great  value  is  placed  upon 
prayer  in  the  mosque,  especially  at  noon  on  Friday,  for 
there  the  angels  pray  for  and  with  the  worshipper. 
But  many  writers  are  wrong  in  saying  that  therefore 
private  petitions  are  little  used  and  esteemed.  The 
Prophet  said  that  to  pray  in  the  Holy  Mosque  at  Mecca 
was  best ;  next  to  that  a  prayer  in  "  my  mosque  at 
Medina  is  valued  by  God  "  ;  but  "  of  greater  worth 
than  all  these  is  the  prayer  of  two  rikas  a  man  performs 
in  the  corner  of  his  room  :  of  which  nobody  knows 
anything  but  God  Almighty." 

It  was  at  such  prayers  that  the  Prophet  wept  from 
the  fervour  of  his  emotions,  spending  whole  nights  in 
prayer,  until  his  health  suffered  ;  and  that  Ali,  his  son- 
in-law,  became  so  absorbed  in  his  devotions  that  his 
body  grew  benumbed.  As  that  distinguished  Moslem, 
Syed  Ameer  Ali,  says :  "  The  intensity  of  the  devotional 
spirit  embalmed  in  the  Church  of  Mohammed  has 
hardly  been  realised  by  Christendom " ;  and  it  never 
can  be  realised  while  the  devotions  of  Islam  are  dismissed 
as  lifeless  forms. 

In  adversity  the  people  must  resort  to  private  prayer, 
they  must  fast  and  repent  of  their  sins.  In  cases  of 
public  calamity  all  men  are  called  to  this  duty,  to  show 
in  every  possible  way  their  sorrow,  repentance,  and 
humiliation,  and  to  pray  privately  and  alone — the 
women  as  the  men — in  addition  to  making  a  great  gather- 
ing for  liturgical  prayer  in  some  public  place.  The 
question  of  the  Moslem  idea  of  sin  is  of  great  importance 


132         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

in  this  connection  ;  for  it  is  frequently  stated  that  the 
consciousness  of  sin  has  no  place  with  these  people.  It 
is  a  question  I  often  discussed  with  men  of  every  class, 
from  the  great  Sheikh  of  Al  Azar  to  my  humble  village 
friends,  the  result  of  which  discussion  I  will  give  later  on. 

A  Moslem  friend,  married  to  an  English  lady,  who  is 
a  Christian,  says  that  his  private  prayers  differ  little  from 
those  of  his  wife.  A  friend  of  theirs  was  very  ill  a  short 
time  since,  and  they  prayed  together  very  earnestly  for 
her  recovery.  At  Tanta  he  has  a  relative,  a  pious  sheikh 
of  distinguished  position  at  the  mosque  school,  in  whose 
goodness  he  believes.  He  wrote  at  once  to  him  to  tell 
him  of  their  love  for  the  sick  woman  and  their  distress 
at  her  illness ;  would  the  sheikh  add  his  prayers  to  theirs 
to  Allah  for  her  recovery,  for  the  sake  of  her  husband, 
their  children,  and  friends  ? 

Was  there  any  suggestion  of  the  "  Kismet,"  with 
which  the  East  is  so  readily  labelled,  in  the  sheikh's 
reply  ?  He  was  glad  to  have  the  request ;  and,  more- 
over, he  would  join  his  prayers  to  those  of  a  band  of 
religious  men  who  each  evening  meet  in  the  mosque  in 
a  sort  of  spiritual  brotherhood  to  reflect  on  the  things 
of  God  and  to  offer  up  special  petitions  to  Him.  In 
leading  the  devotions  of  these  men  he  would  guide  their 
united  prayers  to  the  needs  of  his  afflicted  friends  in 
Cairo. 

A  strange  comment  on  the  charges  both  of  fatalism 
and  formalism,  with  which  a  whole  religion  is  universally 
branded  ! 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  importance  attached  to 
Prayer.  Amr,  the  great  Arab  conqueror  of  Egypt,  in 
the  seventh  century,  was  only  taken  at  a  disadvantage 
when  he  was  leading  his  army  in  the  Friday  prayer, 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       133 

which  he  would  not  omit.  A  story  is  told  of  another 
prayer  of  two  Moslem  officers,  interrupted  by  a  small 
Roman  patrol  coming  out  of  the  fortress  of  Babylon — 
now  old  Cairo — to  fall  upon  the  chiefs  while  at  their 
devotions.  The  Arabs  at  once  leapt  into  their  saddles, 
charged  and  chased  their  enemies,  who,  as  they  fled, 
threw  off  their  girdles  and  valuable  trappings.  The 
Romans  succeeded  in  securing  their  retreat  into  the 
fortress ;  and  the  Arabs,  scorning  the  booty  (and  booty 
was  a  strong  incentive  to  the  early  forces  of  Arabia), 
returned  to  finish  their  prayer.  Prayer  was  always  the 
first  thought,  in  Egypt  as  everywhere  else,  on  that 
triumphant  march  over  the  world.  And  the  venerable 
mosque  of  Amr  stands  to  this  day  in  Cairo  to  witness 
that  the  first  necessity  of  Islam  was  a  place  of  worship. 
Here  the  general  placed  his  standard  during  the  battle, 
here  the  conquerors  at  the  first  moment  of  security 
made  their  united  prayer  ;  here  the  foundations  of  the 
original  mosque  were  at  once  laid. 

It  is  the  same  now  ;  the  first  need  of  any  community 
of  Moslems  is  a  mosque,  as  the  first  and  keenest  desire 
of  every  man  is  to  say  his  prayers  acceptably.  A  year 
or  two  since  a  number  of  men  of  one  of  the  West  African 
negro  tribes  were  in  Berlin,  in  connection  with  an 
Exhibition.  No  one  could  speak  their  language,  and 
they  were  evidently  restless  and  unhappy,  although 
well  lodged  and  fed.  At  last  a  traveller  appeared  who 
was  familiar  with  their  speech,  and  they  hailed  him 
with  delight.  The  first  word  they  spoke  to  him  was 
to  eagerly  ask — Where  is  our  Kibla,  the  direction  of 
Mecca  ! 

Formalism,  again  says  the  casual  or  unsympathetic 
observer.  No  !  the  prayer  is  greater  than  the  place, 

, 


134        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

and  even  the  Kibla  itself  may  be  ignored.  To  show 
this,  the  Prophet  once  turned  his  back  on  the  Kibla 
in  the  mosque  at  Medina,  and  thus  finished  the 
prayer  he  was  leading,  the  congregation  imitating  him. 

And  the  Koran  says :  "  To  God  belongeth  the  East 
and  the  West,  therefore  whithersoever  ye  turn  your- 
selves to  pray,  there  is  the  face  of  God,  for  God  is  omni- 
present and  omniscient  "  (Sura  ii.  109). 

"  It  is  not  righteousness  that  ye  turn  your  faces  in 
prayer  towards  the  East  and  the  West,  but  righteous- 
ness is  of  Him  who  believeth  in  God,  and  the  last  day, 
and  the  angels,  and  the  scriptures,  and  the  Prophets ; 
who  giveth  money  for  God's  sake  unto  his  kindred  and 
unto  orphans  and  the  needy  and  the  stranger  and 
those  who  ask,  and  for  the  redemption  of  captives ; 
who  is  constant  at  prayers  and  giveth  alms,  and  of  those 
who  perform  their  covenant  when  they  have  covenanted, 
and  those  who  behave  themselves  patiently  in  adversity 
and  hardships  and  in  time  of  trouble,  these  are  they  who 
are  just,  and  these  are  they  who  fear  God  "  (Sura  ii.  172). 


CHAPTER    III 

"  In  whatsoever  Books  God  hath  sent  down  do  I  believe :  I  am  com- 
manded to  decide  justly  between  you  :  God  is  your  Lord  and  our  Lord ; 
we  have  our  works  and  you  have  your  works  :  between  us  and  you  let 
there  be  no  strife  :  God  will  make  us  all  one  :  and  to  Him  shall  we  return." 

The  Koran,  Sura  xlii.  13-14. 

THERE  are  in  Cairo  three  mosques  held  sacred  from  the 
sight  of  the  religious  alien ;  even  the  special  orders 
granted  by  the  head  of  all  the  mosques  to  visit  the 
places  of  worship  in  Egypt,  make  an  exception  of  these 
buildings.  They  are  the  Tomb  of  the  Imam  Shaffey, 
the  Mosque  of  Hosein — or  Hassaneyn — and  the  Mosque 
of  Saida  Zeinab. 

Two  of  these  sacred  buildings  I  have  visited,  in 
spite  of  the  discouragements  of  the  high  officials,  who 
would  not  take  the  risk  of  giving  me  any  authority  by 
which  I  might  claim  admission.  After  many  vain 
attempts  to  visit  the  Mosque  of  Hosein,  by  virtue  of 
my  acquaintance  with  the  high  dignitaries  of  the  Moslem 
Church  in  Egypt,  a  growing  friendship  with  the  sheikh 
in  charge  of  the  mosque,  opened  doors  which  it  had 
seemed  that  the  Khedive  himself  would  scarcely  venture 
to  unbar.  If  the  sheikh  would  take  the  risk — as  his 
judgment  served — that  was  another  matter.  I  certainly 
am  much  indebted  to  Sheikh  Mahmoud  Ali  El  Biblawi, 
"  servant  of  the  mosque  of  Hosein,"  for  the  unique 
services  he  rendered  me. 

The  first  time  I  went,  there  were  many  parlies  at 

the  door,  as  I  stood  humbly  in  the  street,  while  my 

135 


136         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Moslem  friend  interviewed  various  minor  sheikhs  and 
other  servants  of  the  mosque  inside.  All  these  men 
came  across  the  carpet  curiously  to  inspect  the  Christian 
man  outside  who  imagined  he  could  enter  the  Mosque 
of  Hosein  ;  the  mosque  of  the  sacred  relics ;  where  the 
head  of  the  martyred  grandson  of  the  Prophet  rests ; 
and  the  Prophet's  own  staff,  a  piece  of  his  cloak,  a  hair 
of  his  beard  ! 

After  half  an  hour  or  more,  during  which  a  messenger 
had  been  sent  to  the  Ulema  of  Al  Azar,  and  a  note  had 
come  back  vouching  for  me  as  a  friend,  I  was  admitted 
just  over  the  threshold  by  an  amiable  guardian  of  the 
door,  and  with  my  Moslem  companion  I  sat  shoeless 
on  the  sacred  carpet,  by  the  first  pillar,  to  await  events. 
But  patience  brought  no  reward  ;  the  chief  sheikh  did 
not,  for  some  reason,  appear  in  answer  to  the  note  ; 
but  two  burly  minor  sheikhs  blustered  across  the 
mosque,  to  create  an  altercation  with  the  servant  who 
had  allowed  a  Christian,  for  the  first  time,  to  enter 
Hosein  and  sit  upon  the  carpet  "  like  a  Moslem."  Such 
a  scene  !  At  the  end  of  which  the  servant  was  per- 
emptorily ordered  to  leave  the  mosque  at  once,  until  a 
decision  as  to  his  fate  was  arrived  at ;  and  I,  who  did 
my  best  to  shield  the  man  who  had  tried  to  serve  me, 
had  to  retire  defeated. 

In  a  few  days  I  tried  again,  in  company  with  a  friend 
of  high  degree.  A  Moslem,  he  of  course  entered  at 
once  and  was  courteously  received  by  the  sheikh  in  his 
private  room.  Profound  apologies  to  me,  but  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  enter,  especially  as  the  Holy  Carpet 
was  there,  receiving  the  last  stitching  before  leaving  for 
Mecca  ! 

Exactly  !     I  had  read  in  Lane's  Modern  Egyptians 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       137 

how  the  author  had  entered  this  same  mosque,  dressed 
as  an  Egyptian,  and,  acting  in  every  way  as  a  Moslem, 
had  pressed  his  way  through  the  crowds  to  see  the 
sewing  of  the  Holy  Carpet,  the  native  friend  who  was 
with  him  being  very  apprehensive  for  his  safety.  And 
I  was  anxious  to  see  if  it  were  not  possible  for  a  Christian, 
making  no  concession  but  the  wearing  of  the  tarboosh, 
to  enter,  and,  without  pretence,  see  the  same  sight. 

A  further  appeal,  this  time  to  the  chief  of  all  the 
great  mosques,  at  the  Wakfs  Administration  offices, 
produced  only  a  very  courteous  intimation  that  every- 
thing possible  should  be  done  for  me,  but  this  particular 
thing,  to  enter  the  three  forbidden  places,  or  to  photo- 
graph at  Al  Azar  University,  these  it  was  not  in  his 
power  to  grant.  There  had  been  riots,  caused  by 
Moslems  of  the  ignorant  class,  he  knew,  but  extremely 
awkward  in  their  consequences  when  the  cause  of  them 
was  a  European,  and  especially  an  Englishman  ! 

This  seemed  conclusive,  but  there  was  still  some 
faint  hope  in  the  sheikh  of  the  mosque  Hosein  himself, 
and  him  I  was  to  meet  privately.  I  now  gathered 
that  if  he  cared  to  take  the  risk  of  admitting  me,  I  might 
gain  my  desire.  He  is  a  gentle  and  courteous  man,  and 
I  convinced  him  of  my  sympathy,  and  that  I  was  no 
idle  sightseer,  but  was  anxious  to  see  and  understand 
as  much  as  possible  of  Islam  and  its  observances,  with  the 
motive  of  justly  representing  it.  I  was  invited  to  be 
at  the  nlosque  the  following  morning,  with  my  friend 
Ismail. 

To  the  moment  fixed,  we  were  at  the  door  of  the 
mosque,  which  was  very  crowded,  with  much  excited 
coming  and  going.  A  special  servant  was  awaiting  us, 
who,  as  we  removed  our  shoes,  went  to  inform  the 


138        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

sheikh,  who  came  over  to  the  door  to  receive  us.  Opposi- 
tion melted  before  us  in  the  good  man's  company. 
Without  hesitation  I  crossed  the  gorgeously  carpeted 
floor  of  this  handsome  mosque — pressing  through  the 
crowds  of  both  men  and  closely  veiled  women — direct 
to  the  opposite,  or  Kibla  side.  A  door  was  opened, 
and  I  found  myself  in  a  long  narrow  room  or  passage, 
on  one  side  of  the  floor  of  which  was  laid  a  section  of 
the  Holy  Carpet,  with  a  man  at  work  stitching  the  hem. 
I  had  only  a  moment,  it  is  true,  in  which  to  observe 
the  black  damask  of  the  "  carpet,"  and  the  rich  gold 
embroidery  of  Koranic  inscriptions  of  the  band  which 
is  designed  to  go  all  round  the  Kaaba,  with  the  silver 
edging  and  the  green  corners  embroidered  in  silver. 

After  the  manufacture  of  the  carpet  is  finished  at 
the  old  palace  which  is  guarded  as  a  secret  place  in 
Cairo — but  which  I  visited  several  times  and  describe 
later  on — it  is  removed  in  a  great  procession  to  this 
mosque,  where  the  pious  are  allowed  to  see  it,  and  some 
especially  privileged  Moslems — men  and  women — are 
permitted  to  add  a  few  stitches  to  the  strings  sewn  to 
the  outer  edge  by  which  it  is  attached  to  the  Kaaba 
in  Mecca,  or  to  help  in  the  sewing  of  the  lining,  which 
is  done  in  the  mosque.  This  morning  a  number  of 
ladies  were  at  work  upon  it  in  this  way,  but  at  the 
request  of  the  sheikh  they  withdrew  for  a  short  time — 
reluctantly,  it  is  true — so  that  I  might  see  it. 

(  I  now  returned  through  the  narrow  door  into  the 
sacred  mosque,  which  I  was  able  to  thoroughly  examine. 
It  is  richly  appointed,  with  a  magnificent  new  carpet 
and  specially  fine  chandeliers.  The  Kibla  is  very 
beautiful.  In  the  court  of  the  ablutions,  many  men 
and  youths  were  washing  preparatory  to  the  noon 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       139 

prayer  ;  while  in  one  corner  of  the  spacious  court  a 
crowd  of  young  students  were  sitting  at  the  feet,  literally, 
of  their  masters,  for  this  is  one  of  the  many  mosques 
allied  to  Al  Azar  University. 

People  read  of  Al  Azar's  13,000  students  and  are 
incredulous  until  they  understand  that  it  takes  over 
thirty  mosques  to  accommodate  them,  most  of  which 
mosques  are  never  seen  by  the  ordinary  visitor  to 
Egypt. 

In  the  sheikh's  private  room  I  discussed  with  him 
the  question  of  a  Christian's  presence  in  this  exclusive 
place.  He  said  that  to  the  cultivated  Moslem  there 
was  no  objection,  but  he  would  not  willingly  offend  the 
ignorant,  who  do  not  like  the  presence  of  any  man 
whom  they  think  will  be  wanting  in  respect.  If, 
however,  any  man  of  alien  faith  was  to  be  received 
there,  it  would  be  a  Christian  who  would  be  least 
unwelcome.  In  the  Prophet's  day,  even,  there  were 
those  who  made  a  "  scoff  and  a  jest  "  of  our  religion, 
and  the  Koran  warns  us  against  them  "  (Sura  v.  62). 
This  is  what  those  Moslems  who  object  to  the  presence 
of  strangers  are  thinking  of. 

Experience  has  taught  Moslems  everywhere  to 
expect  that  Europeans  will  ridicule  their  religion. 
As  Lady  Duff  Gordon  observed  :  "  It  rather  annoys  me 
to  find  that  Moslems  always  expect  from  us  irreverence 
to  their  religion,  which  they  would  on  no  account  be 
guilty  of  to  ours.  I  wish  the  English  could  know  how 
unpleasant  and  mischievous  their  manner  of  talking  to 
their  servants  about  their  religion  is.  Omar  confided 
to  me  how  bad  it  felt  to  be  questioned,  and  then  to 
see  the  Englishman  laugh,  or  put  up  his  lip  and  say 
nothing  ;  he  looks  like  thinking  *  all  nonsense.'  ' 


140        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

"  Is  it  true,"  I  asked,  "  as  is  being  so  widely  asserted 
now  on  the  authority  of  the  book  made  famous  by  the 
Bishop  of  London's  quotation  of  it,  that  every  Friday 
in  the  mosques  at  noonday  prayer  you  call  down 
imprecations  on  the  worshippers  of  Christ  ?  " 

His  answer  was  immediate.  "  It  is  absolutely  untrue. 
The  curse  is  on  the  idolater,  with  whom  a  Moslem  may 
not  associate.  With  the  Christian  and  the  Jew  he  may 
join,  both  in  social  intercourse,  at  meat,  and  in  any 
business  connection ;  and  the  Moslem  man  may  marry 
from  amongst  them.  With  the  idolater,  or  infidel,  as 
he  is  called,  all  this  is  forbidden,  and  friendship  is 
impossible.  Mohammed's  great  work  was  to  destroy 
idolatry,  and  in  all  the  things  he  undertook,  he  made 
his  laws  for  settling  them  far  reaching  and  thorough. 
With  idolatry  he  would  have  no  compromise.  Of 
Christians  the  Holy  Koran  says  : — 

"  '  Thou  shalt  certainly  find  those  to  be  nearest  in 
affection  to  the  Moslems  who  say,  We  are  Christians. 
This  because  some  of  them  are  spiritual  teachers,  and 
because  they  are  free  from  pride  '  (Sura  v.  85). 

"  Allah,"  the  sheikh  continued,  "  has  promised  to 
reward  the  Christians  for  their  good  works  ;  He  says, 
'  I  will  place  those  who  follow  Jesus  above  those  who 
believe  not '  (Sura  iii.  48). 

"  Also  let  me  read  to  you  another  verse  from  the 
Koran  : — 

"  *  Verily  they  who  believe  (Moslems),  and  they  who 
follow  the  Jewish  religion,  and  the  Christians  and  the 
Sabeites — whoever  of  these  believeth  in  God  and  the 
last  day,  and  doeth  that  which  is  right,  shall  have  their 
reward  with  their  Lord  ;  fear  shall  not  come  upon  them, 
neither  shall  they  be  grieved  '  (Sura  ii.  59). 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       141 

"  This,"  he  said,  "  is  the  spirit  of  our  regard  for 
you.  Do  not  let  any  man  persuade  you  that  any  word 
of  our  scriptures  abrogates  such  a  spirit.  Our  curses 
are  upon  our  enemies,  as  your  religious  curses  are,  and 
not  upon  our  friends,  or  upon  those  with  whom  we 
may  be  friendly." 

I  discussed  this  subject  with  almost  every  leader  of 
Islam  in  Egypt,  as  well  as  with  simple  unlearned  men 
untaught  in  anything  but  the  Koran  and  the  ordinary 
practice  of  the  religion  they  love,  and  there  was  not 
a  word  of  disagreement.  The  Sheikh  Abdul  Ha  mid 
El  Bekri,  chief  now  of  the  descendants  of  the  Prophet 
and  of  Abu  Bakr,  the  Prophet's  friend  and  first  successor, 
was  equally  emphatic  with  the  Sheikh  Al  Azar.  Abbas 
Effendi,  the  Persian  leader  of  the  sect  of  the  Bahais, 
was  even  more  decisive  when  I  questioned  him.  "  By 
every  sort  of  agreement  the  curse  is  on  enemies,"  he 
said.  "  Are  the  Jews  and  the  Christians  our  enemies  ? 
surely  they  are  our  friends.  Certainly  we  do  not  curse 
our  friends." 

As  the  result  of  these  endless  inquiries  I  was  quite 
convinced  that  there  is  no  thought  at  all  in  any  mind 
of  cursing  the  worshippers  of  Christ.  Any  passages  in 
the  Koran  which  seem  to  support  this  are  directed  against 
a  form  of  Christianity  with  which  Mohammed  was 
familiar,  in  which  the  Virgin  Mary  was  represented  as 
equal  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  which,  as  he 
considered,  included  the  worship  of  images  of  the  Son 
and  His  Mother.  For  Jesus,  and  His  Mother,  the 
Moslems  have  great  veneration.  Our  Lord  is  mentioned 
with  respect  equal  with  that  of  the  Prophet,  and  the 
Virgin  Mary  is  always  called  "  Our  Mistress  Mary." 
They  believe  Jesus  to  be  the  Spirit  of  God,  born  of  a 


142         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Virgin.  The  invocations  of  the  Prophet  in  the  Koran 
were  directed  against  those  who  ill-treated  his  followers, 
and  to  no  others,  and  this  is  the  rule  of  interpretation 
of  all  such  texts  to  this  day.  "  God  doth  forbid  you 
only  to  make  friends  of  those  who,  on  account  of  your 
religion,  have  warred  against  you,  and  have  driven  you 
forth  from  your  homes,  and  have  aided  those  who 
drove  you  forth  "  (Sura  Ix.  8,  9).  Towards  those  who 
did  not  behave  in  this  way,  they  were  to  act  even  in 
those  days  "  with  kindness  and  fairness  ...  for  God 
loveth  those  who  act  with  fairness." 

Again  and  again  it  was  insisted  to  me  that  it  is 
idolaters  alone  who  are  meant.  Poor  men  would  say 
to  me,  "  God  allows  us  to  marry  Christian  women  and 
Jewish  women,  who  may  keep  their  faith,  but  the  Holy 
Koran  says,  '  Marry  not  women  who  are  idolaters ' 
(Sura  ii.  220).  Could  we  curse  our  own  ?  " 

A  learned  sheikh  put  it  in  this  way.  There  is  a  verse 
in  the  Koran  which  speaks  of  Christians  and  Infidels 
(Sura  ix.  30)  ;  is  that  not  proof  enough,  to  those  who 
will  not  believe  us  when  we  speak  of  our  principles  and 
the  intentions  of  our  own  words,  that  Christians,  as  we 
know  them,  are  not  infidels  to  us  ?  The  whole  con- 
nection of  the  Moslem  conquerors  with  the  Egyptian 
Coptic  Christians  disproves  the  cursing,  and  the  war- 
to-the-knife  theory  of  Islam,  so  often  spoken  of  by 
shallow  critics  ;  otherwise  fanaticism  would  have  ex- 
terminated them.  And  do  these  writers,  like  Mr. 
Gairdner,  know — the  sheikh  asked  me — that  the  whole 
of  the  sentences  of  the  Khutbeh  (or  invocation),  in 
which  God  is  asked  to  "frustrate  the  Infidels,"  at  the 
Friday  prayer,  is  very  often  omitted  altogether  ? 

It  was  interesting  to  recall  that,  as  long  ago  as  1835, 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       143 

Lane  found  that  "  this  sentence  and  some  others  were 
often  omitted."  In  a  copy  of  the  Khutbeh  given  him 
by  a  sheikh  they  had  no  place. 

It  was  a  Christian  writer,  I  was  reminded,  who  had 
declared  :  "  There  is  nothing  in  the  original  teachings 
of  the  Mohammedan  religion  that  requires  hostility  to 
Christians.  There  are,  no  doubt,  bigots  and  fanatics 
among  Moslems,  as  there  have  been,  and  are  now, 
bigots  and  fanatics  among  Christians ;  but  the  spirit  of 
the  religion,  as  taught  in  its  original  records,  is  tolerant. 
And  here  we  cannot  but  protest  against  the  unwarrant- 
able emphasis  with  which  certain  Christians  persist  in 
calling  themselves  c  Infidels '  when  professing  to  re- 
present the  light  in  which  they  are  held  by  Moslems. 
No  such  term  is  ever  applied  to  Christians,  either  in 
the  Koran  or  by  intelligent  Mohammedans.  And  for 
Christian  controversialists  to  insist  upon  such  a  use  of 
it  is  only  to  foster  prejudices  which,  in  this  enlightened 
age,  ought  to  be  entirely  eliminated  from  the  popular 
instincts  of  Christian  countries." 

Speaking  of  the  extent  of  any  moral  instruction  in 
Islam,  the  sheikh  of  the  Mosque  of  Hosein  said  that  three 
times  each  week  he  himself  gives  a  lecture  to  such  men  as 
care  to  assemble  round  him  in  one  of  the  courts  of  the 
mosque.  To  my  bold  request  to  be  allowed  to  sit  with 
the  other  learners,  he,  smiling  in  a  way  which  suggested 
polite  surprise,  nevertheless  consented — and,  forgetting 
Oriental  methods  of  fence,  fixed  an  early  date. 

A  few  days  later  found  me  sitting  again  in  the  Mosque 
of  Hosein,  in  stockinged  feet  and  with  the  scarlet  tarboosh 
on  my  head,  having  entered  by  a  retired  court  at  the 
back,  immediately  after  the  noon  prayer,  the  observance 
of  which  I  had  watched  through  the  door.  I  had  arrived 


144        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

in  time  to  hear  the  call  to  prayer  from  the  minaret,  so 
seldom  noticed  in  the  daytime  by  the  visitor  to  Cairo, 
owing  to  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  native  streets.  In 
this  quiet  court  I  could  see  the  muezzin  moving  from 
side  to  side  of  the  gallery  of  the  minaret,  as  he  sang 
out  over  the  busy  city  in  each  direction  the  impressive 
summons  to  the  worship  of  God.  His  was  a  resounding 
and  musical  voice,  trained  to  right  chanting  of  the 
Arabic  call,  which  in  this  quiet  haven  of  the  city  rang 
out  distinct  and  compelling — "  God  is  most  great ! 
There  is  no  God  but  God  !  Come  to  prayer  !  " 

The  sheikh  spoke,  from  the  low  chair,  to  an  eager 
group  of  men  of  all  ages,  about  forty  or  fifty  in  number. 
His  theme  was — simplicity  and  pride.  He  told,  in 
eloquent  language,  of  the  humility  of  the  Prophet  who, 
to  the  end  of  his  life,  performed  for  himself  all  personal 
service,  and  shared  his  camel  on  a  journey  with  a  slave 
who  might  be  with  him  ;  of  Omar,  who  even  when 
Caliph,  slept  in  the  open  air  unguarded,  saying  to  those 
who  thought  so  great  a  man  should  have  a  guard,  "  If 
I  am  not  secure  in  the  affection  of  my  people,  no  human 
protection  can  save  me."  It  was  the  intention  of  the 
Prophet  that  all  things  in  Islam  should  be  simple,  and 
that  human  pride  should  be  curbed  by  a  sense  of  respon- 
sibility to  our  fellow-men.  He  was  contented  himself 
to  preach  from  the  stump  of  a  palm  tree,  and  in  the  days 
of  his  greatness  hated  all  ostentation.  From  his  finger 
he  removed  a  gold  ring,  because  it  caught  his  attention 
in  the  mosque,  and  never  after  that  wore  anything 
but  a  simple  silver  band.  And  he  and  his  immediate 
successors  taught  a  simplicity  of  conduct  between  man 
and  man,  founded  on  a  sense  of  the  brotherhood  of  all 
mankind.  A  love  to  display  is  wrong  ;  it  may  hurt 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       145 

the  feelings  of  a  poor  brother.  Above  all,  keep  your- 
selves free  from  pride.  "  Mankind,"  said  the  Prophet, 
are  all  the  sons  of  Adam,  and  Adam  was  of  the  earth." 

A  simple  enough  sermon,  but  preached  in  good 
Arabic,  with  its  rounded  and  rhythmic  periods,  and, 
illustrated  by  that  wealth  of  proverb  and  aptness  of 
statement  which  belongs,  in  some  degree,  to  all  Oriental 
speech,  it  did  not  fail  of  effect  and  appreciation. 

On  another  day  I  sat,  by  permission  of  the  venerable 
Sheikh  Al  Azar,  to  hear  a  lesson  delivered  to  older 
students  in  the  beautiful  room  at  Al  Azar,  built  by  the 
present  Khedive  and  used  only  by  the  great  sheikh 
himself  or  his  specially  appointed  teachers. 

A  young  sheikh  was  to  take  the  lesson,  young,  that 
is,  to  be  a  professor  at  Al  Azar  University,  where  the 
student  course  runs  into  an  incredible  number  of  years ; 
he  was  a  handsome,  cheerful-looking  man,  who  proved 
to  be  quite  blind.  He  was  led  to  the  raised  seat,  and 
proceeded  to  lecture  on  a  certain  phase  of  philosophy. 
Incidentally  he  was  advising  his  class  never  to  be  ashamed 
to  confess  that  "  they  did  not  know."  He  told  how  a 
certain  great  man  in  Islam  was  once  asked  to  reply  to  a 
list  of  forty  questions.  After  much  thought  he  answered 
eight  only  of  them  ;  to  the  others  he  confessed  that  he 
had  no  reply  to  make,  but  must  inquire  of  those  better 
able  to  judge  and  decide.  "  If  this  great  man  could 
confess  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  answer,  you  lads 
must  be  ready,  when  you  go  to  your  work  in  the  distant 
towns  and  villages,  to  hesitate  to  answer  questions,  and 
even  to  confess  ignorance.  Much  harm  is  done  to 
religion  by  ill-considered  and  hasty  answers  to  important 
questions,  especially  in  theological  matters." 

I  sat  on  another  day  in  the  private  room  of  the  ulemas 

10 


146        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

of  Al  Azar  University,  most  of  whom  were  present  and 
took  part  in  the  discussions  I  unhesitatingly  raised  on 
such  pertinent  subjects  as  the  personal  character  of  the 
Prophet,  Moslem  fanaticism,  the  "  cursing  of  Christians," 
the  absence  of  repentance  for  sin  alleged  against  them, 
and  so  on,  the  venerable  'Sheikh  Al  Azar  having  placed 
me  on  the  divan  by  his  side,  with  attentions  almost 
affectionate  in  their  courtesy.  I  could  not  help  smiling 
to  recall  the  statement  of  a  writer  as  recent  as  Mr. 
Stanley  Lane-Poole  in  his  book  Cairo  (1898):  "The 
tendency  of  these  studies  is  inevitably  towards  fanaticism. 
The  ulemas  and  professors  of  the  Azar  are,  as  a  rule,  the 
most  bigoted  of  their  race,  and  at  times  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  for  a  Christian  to  set  foot  within  the 
building  without  danger  of  insult  and  even  personal 
injury."  Well,  the  sheikh  himself  aided  and  abetted 
my  making  many  friends  there  amongst  the  students 
and  professors  ;  my  camera  even  was  now  no  offence, 
in  spite  of  the  special  law  I  have  mentioned,  to  save 
the  youths  the  vexations  of  casual  tourists.  How  often 
have  I  shared  the  frugal  meal  of  one  of  these  poor 
alumni  so  readily  and  smilingly  offered  to  one  of  whom 
they  knew  little,  but  that  he  felt  for  them  interest  and 
respect. 

I  have  said  that  the  Mosque  of  Hosein  is  specially 
sacred  because  it  contains  the  cherished  relics.  Later 
on  I  heard  that  in  celebration  of  the  moolid,  or  birthday, 
of  Hosein,  the  relics  of  the  Prophet  were  to  be  exposed 
to  the  gaze  of  the  people.  By  this  time  I  had  become 
known  to  all  the  "  servants  of  the  mosque,"  and  the 
sheikh,  the  chief  "  servant,"  was  very  friendly.  He 
knew  I  should  like  to  see  the  sacred  objects,  but  the 
suggestion  was  unique,  and  he  could  not  commit  him- 


^  .    1 

3  K 

I  3 

§•  5 


3       H 

s'  ! 


> 


f  S 


? 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       147 

self  to  definite  consent.  I  might  visit  him,  however, 
on  the  appointed  day ;  which,  by  the  way,  anticipates  the 
birthday  of  Hosein  for  the  reason  that  on  the  actual 
day  the  mosque  is  now  entirely  closed,  owing  to  the  wild 
grief  shown  by  the  Persians,  who  particularly  venerate 
the  son  of  AH,  which  grief  used  to  culminate  in  scenes, 
now  discouraged,  of  ecstatic  frenzy  in  the  mosque  which 
contains  the  head  of  their  saint.  The  horrible  proces- 
sion on  the  night  of  the  moolid  which  passes  the  closed 
doors  of  the  mosque  is  now  deemed  a  sufficient  indulgence 
of  the  sentiments  of  the  Persian  Moslems  in  Cairo. 

Arrived  at  the  mosque,  I  found  it  was  crowded 
to-day  with  men,  some  sitting  in  rapt  contemplation, 
others  bowing  and  prostrating  themselves  in  prayer, 
others  offering  up  private  petitions,  while  a  constant 
stream  passed  in  and  out  of  a  chapel  on  the  left  of  the 
Kibla.  I  was  taken  straight  to  the  private  room  of 
the  sheikh,  where,  of  course,  the  inevitable  coffee  was 
served  as  the  first  sign  of  hospitable  welcome,  a  point 
of  Eastern  etiquette  which  even  the  mosques  have  the 
facilities  for  observing. 

Very  charming  are  the  courtesies  and  the  compli- 
ments of  a  gentleman  of  the  rank  of  this  exalted  sheikh. 
He  had  longed  to  see  me  again ;  I  honoured  him  by 
my  visit ;  I  was  doubly  welcome.  With  British 
bluntness  I  plunged  at  once  into  questions  to  provoke 
discussion.  Would  he  give  me  his  views  on  the  visiting 
of  the  Tombs  of  Saints,  which  is  such  a  feature  of 
Islam,  of  the  intense  interest  of  the  people  in  the  relics 
and  memorials  of  the  distinguished  dead.  Professor 
Margoliouth  says  that  the  reformed  Islam  of  Egypt 
has  attacked  the  belief  "  in  the  persistence  of  living 
pioneers  in  the  dead  bodies  of  the  saints,  a  notion  which 


148        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

has  given  rise  to  an  excessive  cult  of  saints,  and  probably 
led  to  not  a  little  charlatanry ;  for  the  keeper  of  the 
grave  of  the  saint,  if  the  latter  be  the  founder  of  an 
order,  has  a  tendency  to  acquire  influence  beyond  that 
of  the  saint's  legitimate  successors."  The  following 
are  the  sheikh's  views,  in  his  own  words,  as  nearly  as 
a  translation  can  give  them;  for,  in  addition  to  the 
spoken  word,  he  has  since  written  his  opinions  for  me. 

Some  people  think  it  is  a  kind  of  idolatry  to  pay 
such  homage  to  the  tombs  of  martyrs  like  Hosein,  and 
the  men  of  Islam  who  are  remembered  for  their  saintli- 
ness  or  courage.  But  ask  the  most  ignorant  visitor 
why  he  pays  such  reverence  to  the  dead,  and  he  will 
undoubtedly  answer  that  he  is  here  first  of  all,  above 
every  other  thought,  to  worship  Allah,  the  Almighty 
God ;  he  remembers  the  mighty  dead,  and  praises 
them  as  being  nearer  God  for  the  good  deeds  that 
distinguished  their  lives  on  earth,  and  Allah  may  be 
disposed  to  listen  to  their  pleadings.  He  never  for  an 
instant  thinks  that  there  is  any  but  the  One  God,  to 
whom  all  worship  should  be  devoted. 

The  sheikh  considers  that  the  visiting  the  tombs 
of  the  saints  and  martyrs  makes  a  good  impression  upon 
the  spirit  of  the  visitor,  and  inclines  him  to  think  upon 
the  virtues  and  noble  deeds  of  the  deceased,  which  may 
lead  him  to  try  to  follow  a  great  example.  It  is  always 
good  to  do  anything  that  will  make  the  people  think  of 
spiritual  things.  The  Prophet  said,  "  To  think  for  an 
hour  is  better  than  to  worship  for  a  year."  There  is  no 
foundation  for  the  charge  of  idolatry  in  this  matter. 

The  object  of  prayer  for  the  dead,  and  visiting 
their  tombs — said  Avicenna,  a  Moslem  philosopher  of  the 
eleventh  century — is  to  beg  for  the  help  of  those  pure 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       149 

souls,  a  help  which  is  realised  sometimes  in  a  material, 
sometimes  in  a  spiritual  way.  The  former  kind  of  help 
may  be  compared  to  that  which  the  body  receives  from 
the  brain  ;  spiritual  assistance  is  realised  by  the  purifica- 
tion of  the  mind  from  every  thought  but  that  of  God. 

While  the  sheikh  was  talking  to  me,  in  his  quiet 
voice,  a  confidential  servant  was  silently  passing  in  and 
out  of  the  room,  giving  a  mysterious  word  or  hint  to 
his  master,  which  I  could  not  understand.  I  afterwards 
found  that  he  was  engaged  in  quietly  watching  the 
room  in  which  the  relics  were  being  shown,  with  the 
object  of  suggesting  a  favourable  moment — if  such 
arose — for  the  visit  I  so  much  desired. 

At  last  a  nod,  a  quick  word  from  the  sheikh,  and  in 
a  moment  I  had  passed  into  the  mosque  itself,  where 
for  the  time  the  crowds  had  abated  a  little;  a  sharp 
turn  through  a  doorway,  and  I  was  in  the  relic  chamber. 
There  were  at  that  breathless  moment  only  three  or 
four  old  men  present.  They  took  a  swift  look  at  me 
— my  shaven  upper  lip  excites  suspicion,  for  a  true 
Moslem  will  never  remove  his  moustache — but  the 
trusted  sheikh  at  my  side,  as  he  puts  his  upturned  hands 
upon  his  breast,  and  mutters  a  prayer,  turns  attention 
from  me.  I  look  keenly  for  a  moment  at  the  objects 
in  the  glass-fronted  case.  We  turn,  and  I  am  back  in 
the  sheikh's  private  room  in  no  longer  time  than  it 
has  taken  to  write  these  words — the  first  non-Moslem 
to  have  entered  this  room,  my  friend  assures  me,  since 
the  relics  were  deposited  there. 

I  afterwards  heard  that  when  the  German  Crown 
Prince  was  in  Egypt  he  visited  a  mosque  where  one  of 
the  most  venerated  sheikhs  in  the  history  of  Egypt 
is  buried.  The  Prince  hinted  a  desire  to  enter  the 


ISO        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

chapel  in  which  is  the  tomb,  but  powerful  as  the  ruler 
of  the  mosque  is — and  no  living  man  is  more  revered — 
the  sheikh  felt  that  he  could  not  risk  the  effect  on  the 
minds  of  the  Moslem  people  of  such  a  visit.  The 
subterfuge  to  avoid  a  refusal  of  a  royal  request  was 
characteristic  of  the  Oriental  mind.  A  word  to  the 
guardian  of  the  tomb,  and  before  the  Prince  in  his 
perambulation  of  the  mosque  reached  the  sacred  dome, 
the  door  was  locked  and  the  key  hopelessly  mislaid. 

There   are  six  relics   of   the   Prophet   kept  in   the 
Mosque  of  Hosein,  and  which  I  saw.     These  are  : — 

i.  Two  hairs  of  Mohammed's  beard,  kept  in  a 
bottle  covered  with  green  velvet,  put  within 
a  silver  box. 

ii.  The  spoon  for  the  use  of  al  kohl  (the 
darkening  matter  used  under  theiBbyes) 
which  belonged  to  the  Prophet.  It  re- 
sembles a  small  silver  spoon  of  modern 
shape.  * 

iii.  A  garment  worn  by  the  Prophet. 

iv.  A  piece  of  Mohammed's  shirt. 

v.  A  copy  of  the  Koran  in  Imam  All's  own 
handwriting.  It  is  in  Kufian  letters,  on 
deerskin ;  about  503  pages,  kept  in  a  box 
of  wood. 

vi.  A  Koran  in  the  handwriting  of  Osman  ibn 
Aifan,  in  Kufian  letters,  on  chestnut  wood, 
about  135  pages,  carefully  bound  up. 

*  These  relics,  the  sheikh  told  me,  were  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  house  of  Ibrahim  until  the  seventh  century, 
when  the  Caliph  Al  Zahen  bought  them  for  a  sum  of 
no  less  than  .£60,000.  They  were  kept  at  Old  Cairo 
until  Al  Malek  Konsowa  Al-Ghouri  built  the  domed 
chapel,  now  bearing  his  name,  as  a  receptacle  for  them, 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       151 

which  was  known  as  the  Vault  of  the  Relics.  Lane, 
writing  in  the  year  1835  A.D.,  said :  "  A  shirt  which  is 
said  to  have  been  worn  by  the  Prophet  is  preserved  in 
the  Mosque  Al-Ghouri  in  Cairo.  It  is  not  shown  to  any 
but  persons  of  very  high  rank."  They  were  kept  there 
until  1275,  when  they  were  transferred  to  the  Mosque  of 
Saida  Zeinab.  Again  they  were  moved,  to  the  Citadel, 
where  they  remained  until  1 304,  when  they  were  taken  to 
the  Wakfs  office,  and  in  1305  to  the  Palace  of  Abdin.  In 
1305  H.H.  Tewfik  Pasha,  Khedive  of  Egypt,  decreed 
their  removal  to  the  Mosque  of  Hosein,  where  a  chapel 
was  magnificently  prepared  for  the  relics,  with  the  beauti- 
ful case  in  the  eastern  wall  in  which  I  saw  them. 

Cairo  will  never  forget  the  gorgeous  procession 
arranged  for  the  removal ;  indeed,  the  sheikh  asserts  that 
the  ceremony  was  without  parallel  in  the  modern  history  of 
Egypt.  The  crowd  which  flocked  to  see  the  procession  was 
tremendous.  There  went  to  Abdin  Palace  all  the  Princes, 
the  Ministers,  the  Persian  Consul,  the  ulemasandnotables, 
the  high  officials  and  principal  merchants  of  Egypt. 

The  relics  were  placed  in  the  Khedive's  grand 
reception-room,  on  a  rich  cloth  of  green  velvet.  At 
the  appointed  time  the  Khedive  called  to  his  presence  the 
Grand  Kadi  and  the  Grand  Mufti  of  Egypt,  the  Sheikh 
Al-Azar,  the  Sheikhs  Al-Mahdi,  Al-Bekri,  and  Al- Sadat, 
as  representing  all  the  chief  offices  and  nobly  descended 
families  of  Islam. 

After  a  chapter  of  the  Koran  had  been  read,  me 
Khedive  took  the  Garment  of  the  Prophet  in  his  own 
hands,  and  ordered  other  princes  and  high  officials  to 
carry  the  other  relics.  This  procession  walked  through 
the  palace,  as  far  as  the  salemlik  leading  to  Abdin 
Square,  when  the  chief  descendant  of  the  Prophet,  Syed 


152         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Abdul  Babi  Al-Bekri  took  charge  of  the  relics.  As  they 
were  brought  out  into  the  square,  the  firing  of  cannons 
and  military  music  saluted  the  sacred  antiquities. 

Then  the  great  procession  started,  preceded  by 
horsemen  and  soldiers ;  all  the  sects  and  Guilds — or  the 
"  Ways  of  Islam,"  as  they  are  called — with  their  differing 
banners,  following.  There  were  cavalry  and  footmen 
of  the  Egyptian  Army,  with  bands ;  the  ulemas  and 
Moslem  dignitaries,  followed  by  twenty  servants  in 
rich  uniforms,  bearing  costly  perfumes  for  sprinkling 
upon  the  populace — always  a  feature  of  Oriental  religious 
processions.  Then  came  the  bearers  of  the  relics, 
followed  by  the  Cabinet  Ministers  and  other  high 
notables.  The  number  of  those  who  took  part  in  the 
procession  is  said  to  have  been  30,000 ;  while  the 
onlookers  numbered  over  200,000. 

In  the  year  1311  a  special  chamber — the  one  in 
which  I  saw  the  relics — was  built  by  order  of  the  present 
Khedive,  H.H.  Abbas  u.  I  regretted  that  I  had  no  time 
in  which  to  examine  the  rich  inscriptions  with  which 
the  walls  of  the  chamber  are  now  decorated. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  these  are  all  Moslem 
dates,  the  calendar  beginning  with  the  year  of  the  Flight, 
El-Hijrah,  622  A.D. 

Of  the  most  precious  relic  of  all,  the  head  of  the 
Martyr  Hosein,  which  is  kept  in  a  separate  chamber,  a 
vault,  and  which  there  was  no  chance,  I  was  convinced, 
of  my  seeing,  the  sheikh  very  kindly  gave  me  many 
details.  This  most  jealously  guarded  relic  has  been 
seen  by  few  living  men.  Indeed,  it  is  related  that  a 
certain  Ameer,  in  the  time  of  Mohammed  Ali,  deter- 
mined to  force  a  way  into  the  vault  to  see  for  himself 
what  it  contained.  Two  men  were  first  sent  by  him 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       153 

into  the  vault,  and  when  they  returned  one  was  found 
to  be  blind  and  the  other  dumb — one  saw  nothing, 
and  the  other  could  never  describe  what  he  saw  !  With 
quiet  pride  the  sheikh  told  me  that  he  had  the  honour 
of  entering  the  sacred  place  a  few  years  since,  when  it 
was  observed  that  a  part  of  the  foundation  was  threaten- 
ing to  give  way.  He  made  a  report  on  the  subject  to 
the  Wakfs  Administration,  who  at  once  undertook  the 
necessary  repairs. 

The  martyr's  death  took  place  on  the  loth  day  of  the 
sixty-first  year  of  the  Hijrah.  Amr  ibn  Saad  carried 
the  head  to  Kufa,  gave  it  to  Ibn  Zayyad,  who  carried  it 
through  the  city,  and  sent  it  to  Zazid,  at  Damascus, 
who  ordered  it  to  be  exposed  for  three  days,  and  then 
taken  through  the  country  to  Askalan,  whose  Ameer 
was  a  pious  Moslem.  The  Ameer  buried  it  "  in  an 
excellent  place,"  where  it  remained  till  491.  Then 
Al  Afdal,  the  general  of  the  army  at  Damascus,  dis- 
interred it  with  solemn  ceremonies,  and  placed  it  in 
what  he  considered  a  more  suitable  spot. 

In  the  year  548,  Askalan  was  threatened  by  a  Euro- 
pean power,  and  thereupon  the  Ameer  of  that  day, 
Ayyash,  sent  to  the  Caliph  Al-Faez,  in  Egypt,  informing 
him  that  the  head  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  Europeans, 
and  entreating  him  to  send  a  deputation  to  take  charge 
of  it.  The  caliph  was  at  the  time  a  boy  of  eleven  years, 
and  the  power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Prime  Minister, 
Talaih  ibn  Ruzaik,  who  promptly  sent  an  army,  under 
the  leadership  of  Maknoun  Al-Khadem,  to  whom  he 
granted  .£30,000.  When  they  arrived  at  Kuttieh,  they 
were  received  by  the  Ameer,  who  bore  the  head  and 
delivered  it  to  the  general. 

In  Cairo  a  mosque  was  built  for  the  head  outside 


154        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Zoueilah  Gate — the  well-known  Bab  Zoueilah,  where 
the  pious  pray  and  tie  rags  and  attach  teeth  to  the  studs 
of  the  gate — opposite  Darb-ul-Ahmar,  now  known  as 
the  Mosque  of  Al-Saleh.  The  head  was  washed  in  this 
mosque,  upon  a  board,  strips  of  which  are  said  to  be 
those  now  hanging  on  the  walls  of  the  mosque.  But 
the  family  of  Al-Faez  objected  to  the  head  reposing  in 
that  mosque,  as  it  was  not  actually  inside  the  city  of 
Cairo,  and  insisted  on  its  removal  to  the  caliph's  palace, 
where  the  present  dome — or  "  sheikh  " — was  built  for 
it,  the  Mosque  of  Hosein  being  built  over  the  dome, 
on  the  very  spot  where  the  famous  green  steps  of  the 
palace  were. 

Lane  tells  a  strange  story  of  how  proof  was  conveyed 
in  a  wonderful  dream,  of  this  head  being  actually  in 
Cairo.  The  sheikh  related  to  me  the  following  some- 
what similar  anecdote,  which  is,  however,  so  far  different 
in  detail  and  names  as  to  be  worth  recording  : — 

Shuhab-el-Deen,  a  former  Grand  Mufti  (chief 
judge)  of  Egypt,  was  asked  by  the  Imam  Sharani  to  visit 
the  mosque.  He  did  not  believe  that  the  head  was 
there,  but  complied  with  the  request.  During  the 
visit  he  fell  asleep,  and  saw  in  a  dream  a  man  in  white 
clothes,  who  came  out  of  the  Prophet's  grave  at  Medina, 
and  said,  "  Oh,  Prophet,  Sharani  and  Shuhab-el-Deen 
have  come  to  visit  your  daughter's  son's  tomb."  There- 
upon the  Prophet  said,  "  May  Allah  accept  their  devo- 
tion." Shuhab  then  awoke,  crying,  "  I  now  believe — 
believe  and  am  fully  convinced,  that  the  head  is  here 
in  this  mosque  of  Hosein." 

Another  miraculous  story  told  me  by  the  sheikh 
was  that  a  certain  Salah-Al-Deen  caused  displeasure 
to  the  Caliph  Al-Molek  Al  Naser,  by  declaring  that  a 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       155 

certain  Egyptian  notable  knew  all  about  the  secret 
treasures  of  the  caliph's  palace.  The  man  was  brought 
and  questioned,  only  to  deny  the  statement.  The 
caliph  then  ordered  that  the  man  should  be  detained, 
and  that  on  his  head  should  be  placed  a  number  of 
beetles,  to  be  kept  there  by  a  wrapping,  so  that  they 
might  cut  into  his  skull,  and,  after  causing  slow  torture, 
eventually  kill  him,  if  he  did  not  seek  relief  by  disclosing 
any  knowledge  he  might  have  become  possessed  of. 
But  as  he  did  neither  disclose  anything,  nor  show  any 
signs  of  pain,  the  wrapping  was  removed,  and  the 
beetles  were  found  dead.  To  the  caliph's  astonished 
questions  he  replied,  "  I  bore  the  head  of  the  blessed 
Hosein  on  my  head,  when  it  was  brought  to  Cairo,  and 
so  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  anything  man  can  do  to  me 
to  injure  my  head." 

The  sheikh  told  me  that  the  Ameer  Hassan,  who 
built  the  tomb  for  the  head,  made  a  coffin  for  it  of  ebony, 
ornamented  with  ivory  and  silver  and  covered  with 
embroidered  silk.  The  sheikh's  opinion  is  that  the 
original  coffin  and  cover  have  been  changed,  as  the 
coffin,  as  he  saw  it,  is  of  simple  wood,  in  an  ornamented 
cover,  bearing  writings  in  silver  threads.  On  the  door 
of  the  tomb  there  are  four  silver  rings,  and  round  the 
table  on  which  the  coffin  rests  there  are  twenty-three 
jars  of  the  finest  crystal,  bearing  the  name  of  Al-Malek 
Al  Zaher  Abu  Said,  and  the  Koranic  verse,  "  God  is  the 
light  of  Heaven  and  Earth."  These  jars  are  estimated 
to  be  worth  over  £2000.  The  coffin  stands  on  a  support 
of  ebony,  covered  in  a  green  cloth.  Round  about  it  are 
great  quantities  of  rare  perfumery  materials,  the  scent 
of  which  is  still  fresh. 


CHAPTER   IV 

"  Egypt  has  always  been  a  soil  favourable  to  the  development  of  mystic 
tendencies.  Christian  asceticism  took  early  root  there,  and  during  the 
first  centuries  of  our  era  thousands  of  anchorites  inhabited  the  deserts  of 
the  Thebaid,  and  carried  on  there  religious  exercises  of  extreme  austerity. 
We  do  not  know  what  secret  connection  may  exist  between  the  climate 
of  the  valley  of  the  Nile  and  the  character  of  its  inhabitants,  but  if  the 
Arab  chroniclers  deserve  any  credit,  Arab  mysticism  originated  in  this 
country."  Claud  Field,  Mystics  and  Saints  of  Islam,  p.  167. 

I  WAS  honoured  with  an  invitation  to  a  banquet  "  in 
Eastern  style  "  by  the  Sheikh  Ahmed  Mehsen,  who  is 
the  present  hereditary  chief  of  the  sacred  and  beautiful 
tomb  and  mosque  of  the  Imam  el-Chafi'i  (generally 
called  the  Imam  Shaffey),  "  in  the  desert  outside  the 
walls  of  Cairo,"  to  celebrate  the  moolid  or  birthday  of 
the  Imam,  which  is  one  of  the  great  events  of  the  Moslem 
year  in  Egypt.  All  the  guide-books  give  an  account  of 
the  great  theologian,  who  is  one  of  those  four  great 
Imams  of  Islam  whose  teachings  are  of  paramount 
influence  and  importance.  Egypt  is  naturally  proud 
of  having  cherished  one  of  these  leaders,  and  makes 
much  of  the  possession  of  his  tomb. 

We  passed,  on  the  way  out  from  Cairo,  an  endless 
stream  of  people  wending  their  way  to  pray  at  the  tomb, 
with  a  good  sprinkling  of  beggars  and  rogues  who  sought 
to  gain  something  from  passers-by  "  for  love  of  the 
saint."  As  it  was  Friday,  the  Moslem  Sabbath,  as  well 
as  the  moolid,  an  unusual  number  of  people  had  decided 
to  "  visit  the  Imam  " — for  the  Moslem  always  speaks, 

when  he  goes  to  a  grave,  of  paying  a  visit  to  a  dead 

156 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       157 

person  ;   the  spirits  of  the  good  being  thought  to  hover 
near  their  tombs. 

The  endowments  left  by  the  pious  in  honour  of 
El  Chafi'i  are  extremely  rich,  and  the  Sheikh  Ahmed 
Mehsen,  who  has  charge  also  of  the  Imam  Lissy  tomb, 
is  a  man  of  great  importance  in  the  counsels  of  his 
compeers,  being  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly. 

A  fine  residence  adjoins  the  mosque,  and  here  we 
were  welcomed  by  the  courteous  and  genial  sheikh 
with  Eastern  cordiality  and  compliment.  The  house, 
the  tomb,  the  mosque — are  all  mine. 

The  first  pleasure  is,  of  course,  to  drink  the  cere- 
monial coffee,  while  we  rest  and  chat  in  the  salemlik, 
while  through  the  open  windows  comes  the  buzz 
of  the  assembling  crowds.  Then  the  sheikh,  and  his 
brother,  "  take  permission  "  to  leave,  in  the  polite  way 
of  the  East ;  they  must  make  their  ablutions  for  the 
noon  prayer,  which  the  sheikh  will  lead. 

The  call  rings  out  from  the  minaret ;  already  the 
mosque  is  crowded  to  the  last  inch  of  available  space. 
I  should  like  to  see  the  prayer  of  this  enormous  multitude, 
but  it  is  deemed  impossible  to  make  a  place  for  me 
actually  inside  the  mosque.  I  go,  however,  to  one  of 
the  open  windows  in  the  Kibla  end  of  the  mosque, 
and  there  can  hear  and  watch  the  service  to  greater 
advantage  than  being  in  the  midst  of  the  close  rows 
of  worshippers  inside. 

There  is  no  deviation  from  the  concentration  which 
always  marks  the  Moslem  prayers.  These  rows  of 
worshippers  call  upon  their  God,  and  humble  them- 
selves to  the  ground  before  Him,  with  a  fervour  of 
expression  which  is  always  moving  to  behold. 

The  sermon   was  an   example  of   the  unreformed 


158         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

preaching,  the  recitation  of  one  of  the  very  ancient 
discourses  which  are  so  familiar  to  the  worshipper's  ear 
that  the  only  merit  they  have  is  that  they  are  short ; 
five  minutes  exhausted  the  preacher's  memorised  stock. 

Prayer  ended,  the  crowds  made  their  way  to  the 
tomb,  and  I  returned  to  the  house,  to  meet  a  number 
of  youthful  relatives  of  the  sheikh  who,  including  his 
son,  were  able  to  speak  to  me  in  fluent  English.  They 
wore,  however,  the  Egyptian  galabieh,  as  they  were 
at  home  on  holiday,  although  when  they  go  into  Cairo 
to  school  they  appear  in  modern  European  clothes  ;  as, 
unfortunately,  do  all  the  pupils  in  the  Government  schools. 

Our  Western  garments  may  be  convenient  for  our 
bustling  habits,  but  they  are  not  suitable  for  the 
customs  of  a  religious  Moslem.  But  then  how  little 
provision  is  made  at  the  schools  for  the  practice  of 
religion.  We  complain  of  the  growing  race  of  "  the 
godless  effendi,"  and  deplore  in  that  burningly  unjust 
phrase  which  Lord  Cromer  misquotes — with  an  added 
injustice — from  Stanley  Lane-Poole,  "  that  an  upper- 
class  Moslem  must  be  *  a  fanatic  or  a  concealed  infidel.'  " 
But  we  do  our  best  to  wean  the  new  generation  under 
our  charge  from  the  only  form  of  godliness  at  present 
possible  to  them,  giving  them  nothing  in  its  place. 
What,  for  instance,  is  the  size  of  any  one  of  the  school 
mosques,  as  compared  with  the  number  of  boys  in  the 
school  ?  Or  what  encouragement  is  given  to  the  one 
sheikh  attached  to  the  school  to  impart  religious 
instruction  ?  As  a  rule,  the  tiny  mosque  will  not  hold 
more  than  about  one  in  ten  of  the  Moslem  boys  at 
the  schools,  and  religious  teaching  is  discouraged.  The 
truth  might  be  stated  in  this  way.  Unless  these  school- 
boys have  something  of  the  zeal  we  call — in  people  of 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       159 

other  religions — fanaticism,  they  will  drop  all  the 
observances  of  their  religion  as  inconvenient  and 
unpopular  with  the  authorities ;  if  they  are  inclined  to 
godlessness,  nothing  will  save  them  from  atheism  under 
the  present  conditions.  Every  year  four  hundred  of 
these  boys  are  in  England  to  continue  their  studies  at 
our  universities  and  colleges.  What  is  being  done  to 
save  them  from  a  godless  and  abandoned  life  in  the 
midst  of  temptations  which,  under  the  freedom  of  our 
social  customs,  are  even  greater  than  those  of  their  own 
land  ?  It  is  a  lamentable  thing  that  there  is  no  mosque 
in  England  in  which  these  boys  may  worship  God,  nor 
any  spiritual  guide  to  give  them  any  help  or  advice. 

But  this  by  the  way.  These  schoolboys,  very 
courteously — at  the  request  of  the  sheikh — took  me 
to  the  beautiful  thirteenth-century  mosque  and  the 
tomb,  explaining  all  the  details  with  great  pride.  The 
interior  of  the  dome  is  richly  decorated  in  red  and  gold, 
having  a  most  gorgeous  effect.  The  actual  tomb  of 
the  great  Imam  inside  is  a  fine  piece  of  work.  It  was 
touching  to  see  the  people  pressing  round  it  with  up- 
turned hands,  silently  praying  to  God,  with  redoubled 
eagerness,  because  of  the  communion  of  the  saint  which 
they  felt  they  were  enjoying  in  that  sacred  spot.  I 
heard  no  word  of  protest  at  my  presence  on  this  day  of 
the  moolid.  Now  and  then  a  man  would  inquire  of  one 
of  my  youthful  escort,  "  Who  is  this  ?  "  but  the  smiling 
reply,  "  A  friend  of  the  sheikh,"  was  always  satisfactory. 

On  the  way  back  to  the  house  I  remarked  on  the 
delightful  model  of  a  ship  which  surmounts  the  centre 
of  the  dome.  The  sheikh,  who  had  come  out  to  meet 
us,  explained  that  the  ship  was  intended  to  represent 
the  wise  Imam  as  having  traversed  a  whole  sea  of  know- 


160        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

ledge.  The  ship  is  so  made  that  it  will  contain  a 
quantity  of  grain  (about  two  bushels)  at  one  end,  and 
a  gallon  of  water  at  the  other.  In  the  month  of  Sha'ban 
the  boat  is  filled,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  may  have 
a  feast ;  and  at  any  other  time  of  the  year  it  is  open 
to  any  generous  Moslem  to  send  the  grain  for  this  pur- 
pose— a  servant  of  the  mosque  will  always  undertake 
the  lading  of  the  ship. 

The  Moslem  people  are  ardent  lovers  of  birds,  and 
are  generous  in  their  provision  of  food  and  water  for 
them,  often  associating  this  kindness  with  veneration 
for  their  dead,  as  in  this  case.  In  Algiers  almost  every 
grave  in  the  cemetery  has  a  little  drinking-well  cut  out 
of  the  marble  slab  on  the  top  of  it,  which  is  filled  with 
water  by  the  women  on  their  regular  Friday  visits.  In 
Upper  Egypt  the  birds  by  their  tameness  show  how 
fearlessly  they  live  with  mankind  (and,  what  is  more 
curious,  boykind).  I  have,  more  than  once,  passed 
a  pair  of  beautiful  little  owls,  huddled  together  on  the 
bough  of  a  small  tree,  within  arm's  length  of  the  well- 
worn  footpath  along  which  I  was  passing — and  this  within 
a  few  miles  of  Luxor. 

In  Mecca  the  flocks  of  pigeons — a  distinguished 
pilgrim,  who  accompanied  the  Khedive  to  Mecca,  told 
me — are  so  tame  that  they  regularly  alight  on  the 
shoulders  of  pilgrims  and  others.  There  is  a  special 
provision  of  wheat  provided  for  them  by  a  charity  or 
"  wakf."  In  the  western  part  of  the  city  certain  poor 
women  sell  corn  to  visitors  for  feeding  the  birds,  and 
there  is  a  fountain  set  apart  for  them  to  drink  at. 
People  like  to  believe  that  these  pigeons  are  descended 
from  the  very  pigeons  which  made  a  nest  on  a  ledge 
at  the  entrance  of  the  cave  in  which  the  Prophet  was 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       161 

hidden  during  the  Flight  from  Mecca.  The  sight  of 
the  nest,  and  a  spider's  web  spun  across  the  entrance, 
convinced  the  pursuers  of  Mohammed  that  there  was  no 
need  to  search  the  cave,  to  which  circumstance  he  owed 
what  was  naturally  regarded  as  a  providential  escape. 

At  the  sheikh's  house  we  found  that  lunch  was 
awaiting  us.  I  shall  have  occasion  later  to  describe  the 
food  offered  in  one  of  those  great  native  banquets 
which  the  Egyptians  prepare  for  their  friends,  so  I 
need  not  go  into  details  now.  We  first  go  to  the  table 
and  secure  our  serviettes,  which  are  of  double  size,  and 
take  them  to  the  outer  room,  where  a  servant  stands 
with  the  spouted  ewer  of  the  East,  to  pour  water  over 
our  hands  ;  we  use  the  serviette  as  a  towel,  and  at  once 
return  to  the  table,  and  take  our  places  without  any 
ceremony.  The  meal  lacks  nothing  of  that  bounty 
and  profusion  which  may  be  at  once  the  delight  and 
fear  of  the  Englishman  whose  appetite  has  been  trained 
to  consider  three  or  four  meals  necessary  in  one  day, 
and  so  refuses  to  accommodate  itself  to  what  is  practi- 
cally the  single  formal  meal  of  the  twenty-four  hours. 

We  ate  with  our  fingers,  of  course  ;  a  piece  of  the 
dry  native  bread-cake  taking  the  place  of  all  the  multi- 
tudinous implements  of  the  table  to  which  in  Europe 
we  are  accustomed.  A  whole  turkey,  of  great  dimen- 
sions, appeared,  which  had  been  slightly  cut  in  the 
kitchen  in  such  a  way  that  we  had  little  difficulty  in 
pulling  it  to  pieces.  Dishes  of  meat,  of  fish,  of  game, 
things  roasted,  and  delicious  stews,  vegetables,  rice, 
herbs.  With  unfailing  solicitation,  titbits  were  selected 
for  me,  as  the  guest  of  the  day.  I  was  pressed  to  eat 
of  every  course,  and  knew  that  courtesy  said  that  no 
dish  must  pass  untasted. 
ii 


1 62         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

At  last  we  passed  the  over-plentiful  meat  courses, 
and  delicious  sweets  and  fruits  appeared,  a  sign  that 
the  end  of  the  banquet  was  now  in  view.  There  is 
an  informality  about  the  ending  of  an  Egyptian  meal 
that  at  first  seems  like  rudeness  to  a  European.  Who- 
ever has  first  finished,  whether  host  or  guest,  gets  up 
at  once  and  leaves  the  table,  and  taking  his  serviette, 
goes  to  wash — it  is  no  discourtesy  to  leave  a  guest  at 
the  table.  In  addition  to  the  hands,  these  men  all 
wash  their  teeth  after  a  meal,  very  thoroughly,  making 
a  lather  with  the  soap,  which  they  declare  is  not  un- 
pleasant as  they  rinse  it  out  with  clean  water  at  once. 
They  are  much  surprised  that  the  Western  people  do 
not  regularly  wash  the  mouth  and  teeth  after  eating. 

It  is  worth  noting  that  during  a  recent  "  health 
week  "  a  famous  dentist  has  been  advising  the  poor 
people  of  England  to  clean  their  teeth  regularly  with 
"  a  little  soap  and  powdered  chalk,"  as  the  most  effective 
and  the  cheapest  dentifrice. 

There  are  no  people  more  gay  and  genial  than  those 
of  the  Arab  race  when  they  are  entertaining  their 
friends.  There  is  abundance  of  the  good-humoured 
"  chaff,"  the  verbal  play,  and  the  punning  joke  in  which 
all  the  people  of  the  East  delight.  There  is  a  whimsi- 
cality in  their  badinage  which  once  led  Lady  Duff 
Gordon  to  say  that  she  could  trace  the  genealogy  of 
Don  Quixote  straight  up  to  the  modern  Arab.  Good 
fellowship  knows  no  more  delightful  votaries. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  Moslem  friendship  for  Jews ; 
on  one  side  of  me  at  the  table  was  a  young  Jewish 
gentleman  from  Cairo,  whose  intimacy  with  the  family 
of  the  sheikh  was  such  that  he  was  always  privileged 
to  visit  them,  uninvited,  for  the  Friday  meal.  The 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       163 

Moslem  friend  on  the  other  side  of  me  suggested  that 
the  "  fanaticism  " — especially  on  the  day  of  the  moolid 
— of  the  party  would  require  at  least  the  assassination 
of  the  Jew  before  he  left !  But  as  he  accepted  a  seat 
in  our  carriage,  and  drove  back  with  us  to  Cairo,  I  can 
answer  for  his  safety.  He  told  me  he  has  lived  with 
Moslems,  as  friends  and  neighbours,  all  his  life.  Arabic 
is  his  native  language.  Of  fanaticism  of  the  Moslem 
towards  the  Jew  he  knows  nothing. 

Another  interesting  visit  was  to  the  mosque  of  the 
Demerdache  Order,  in  the  suburbs  of  Cairo,  by  the 
special  invitation  of  the  Sheikh  El-Demerdache.  Thurs- 
day is  a  crowded  day  at  this  mosque,  when  great  numbers 
of  people  gather  there  for  special  prayers.  The  road 
leading  to  the  mosque  was  like  a  fair,  with  stalls  and 
booths — to  say  nothing  of  the  beggars. 

The  sheikh  received  us  very  graciously  in  his  spacious 
house  adjoining  the  mosque,  which,  like  most  of  the 
houses  of  the  well-to-do  classes  at  the  present  time  in 
all  parts  of  Egypt,  is  in  the  process  of  enlargement.  It 
was  curious,  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  ancient  East, 
with  the  mystic  influences  of  a  saint's  tomb  about  us, 
where  every  year  numbers  of  fasting  devotees  gather 
at  the  moolid  of  the  saint  and  immure  themselves  in 
the  little  chambers  which  we  can  see  leading  off  the 
court,  to  hear  the  sounds  of  an  excellent  piano,  on  which 
the  sheikh's  daughter,  whose  education  and  accom- 
plishments are  well  known  even  in  a  land  where  women 
are  secluded,  was  playing  the  latest  Parisian  music. 

Like  most  of  the  sheikhs  in  charge  of  the  important 
tombs,  my  host,  Syed  Abaer-Baheem  el-Demerdache, 
the  President  of  the  Order,  holds  the  post  by  virtue 
of  his  descent  from  the  saint ;  and  he,  too,  has  great 


1 64         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

possessions.  Just  as  the  piano  is  a  sign  of  the  modern 
developments  in  the  hareem,  there  is  more  than  one  fine 
motor-car  in  the  garage  of  this  house,  to  make  a  link 
between  the  past  and  the  present  for  the  sheikh  himself. 

After  coffee  in  the  salemlik,  we  visited  the  lovely 
garden — the  date  is  the  4th  of  January — where  the  sheikh 
gathered  a  bunch  of  such  flowers  as  we  expect  in  England 
in  July,  roses  and  jasmine  being  especially  cultivated 
for  their  fragrance.  These  are  for  my  wife,  with  a 
valuable  gift  of  jasmine  scent  in  addition. 

As  we  walked  in  the  garden,  the  call  to  sunset 
prayer  went  out  with  remarkable  sweetness  from  the 
minaret,  and  after  enjoying  the  wonderful  glow  from 
the  western  sky  which  lit  up  the  whole  of  the  scene 
about  us  with  a  strange  beauty,  we  were  taken,  just  as 
the  prayer  finished,  into  the  mosque  tomb,  by  the  sheikh 
himself ;  somewhat  to  the  astonishment  of  the  people 
gathered  there,  for  it  is  obvious  that  alien  visitors  are 
rare,  as  no  slippers  are  provided.  Many  men  remained 
after  the  formal  prayer  for  their  private  petitions, 
sitting  on  the  carpet,  with  their  hands  to  their  breasts,  and 
one  could  hear  the  quiet  groaning  sounds,  as  odd  words 
of  their  petitions  escaped  them.  Round  the  enclosure 
of  the  saint's  tomb  itself  were  many  people,  pressing  to 
be  near  it,  some  of  them  kissing  the  wooden  screen. 

Walking  out  into  the  court,  the  sheikh  shows  us  the 
small  cells,  sixty-five  in  number,  just  big  enough  each 
to  hold  a  single  man,  in  which  the  brotherhood  live 
during  the  three  days  of  the  moolid.  They  are  small, 
and  quite  bate,  and  the  narrow  slit  in  the  doors  admits 
the  only  light  and  ventilation.  Some  open  on  to  the 
floor  of  the  mosque  court,  and  others  above  them  on  to 
a  narrow  outer  gallery. 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       165 

The  story  of  the  Order  as  the  sheikh  himself  told  it 
to  me,  is  this.  About  five  hundred  years  ago  a  certain 
Mohammed,  a  Moslem  of  Afghan  or  Circassian  origin, 
was  made  captive  by  a  certain  Kaid  Bey,  who  brought 
him  into  the  Nile  Valley  as  his  slave.  Mohammed's 
integrity  soon  gained  for  him  the  respect  of  his  lord, 
who  eventually  put  him  in  charge  of  his  treasury.  His 
real  vocation,  however,  was  a  spiritual  one,  for  in  his 
leisure  hours  he  cultivated  the  life  of  the  mystic,  who 
seeks  oneness  with  the  Great  Spirit  by  prayer  and  fasting. 
The  retired  spot  which  Mohammed  sought  for  his 
devotions  is  said  to  be  where  the  mosque  now  stands. 

His  fame  began  to  spread  among  the  people,  and 
first  he  was  given  the  popular  name  of  Sheikh  el- 
Mohamady ;  to  which  name  was  afterwards  added 
"  demer "  (iron)  and  "  dache "  (stone),  from  the 
incident  of  his  master,  having  observed  his  unwearying 
prayers,  asking,  "  Are  you  made  of  iron  or  of  stone, 
that  you  tire  not  in  your  prayers  ?  "  From  the  moment 
this  story  was  known  Mohammed  was  called  Demer- 
dache.  This  way  of  naming  and  renaming  men  is  still 
largely  practised  in  Eastern  lands. 

At  this  point,  the  story  being  very  like  that  of  all 
mystics  of  whatever  faith,  the  miraculous  element 
appears  in  the  biography  of  the  saint. 

It  is  related  that  the  ruler  of  Egypt  at  this  time 
was  informed  that  in  Medina  the  body  of  the  Prophet 
had  been  stolen  from  the  sacred  tomb.  Travelling  to 
the  holy  city,  the  monarch  discovered  that  an  under- 
ground passage  had  indeed  been  bored  to  the  grave. 
There  was  great  trouble  in  the  mind  of  the  king  and 
his  counsellors.  They  were  afraid  of  what  further 
search  might  reveal,  and  yet  they  wanted  to  know  the 


1 66        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

truth.  The  king  decreed  to  settle  the  matter  in  this 
way.  Let  a  holy  man  be  found  who  does  not  value  his 
earthly  life.  "  He  who  will  penetrate  the  tomb  and 
bring  me  news  shall  win  a  martyr's  death  by  forfeiting 
his  life."  No  one,  however,  would  volunteer  for  the 
dread  task,  till  the  news  reached  Sheikh  Demerdache. 
He  volunteered  at  once,  with  the  result  that  he  brought 
back  from  the  tomb  the  news  that  the  Prophet's  remains 
were  undisturbed.  When  the  king  would  have  ordered 
his  death,  a  heavenly  vision  appeared  to  prevent  him. 
The  sheikh's  life  was  saved,  and  from  that  time  it  was 
entirely  devoted  to  mystical  communion  with  God,  to 
austere  self-renunciation,  and  to  good  works — out  of 
which  grew  the  great  Order  of  dervishes,  which  now 
numbers  nearly  five  thousand  men,  of  the  influential 
classes,  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  Order  has  signs  and  tenets  which,  like  those 
of  the  Freemasons,  are  not  divulged  to  the  uninitiated, 
and  like  them  it  has  a  charitable  fund  for  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  members.  Prayer  and  devotion,  and 
service  to  mankind,  are  the  aims  of  those  who  follow 
the  founder.  The  oath  of  initiation  (as  it  was  once 
divulged  by  a  confiding  member)  includes  the  words : 
"  I  take  as  my  sheikh  and  my  guide  unto  God,  my 
master  .  .  .  El-Demerdache."  The  covenant  is  taken 
by  the  novice  (after  having  made  the  ablution  as  for 
prayer)  sitting  on  the  ground  opposite  the  sheikh  of 
the  Order  ;  the  two  clasp  their  right  hands,  covered  by 
the  sleeve  of  the  sheikh.  And  the  covenant  embraces 
a  humble  confession  of  sin,  and  an  oath  of  repentance, 
begging  "  the  grace  and  forgiveness  of  God.  ...  I  am 
grieved  for  what  I  have  done  amiss,  and  I  determine 
not  to  relapse." 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       167 

In  the  middle  of  the  month  previous  to  the  annual 
moolid,  members  of  the  Order  send  in  their  names, 
from  all  parts  of  the  Islamic  world,  as  candidates  for  the 
retreat.  From  the  moment  of  application  no  morsel 
of  any  animal  food  should  be  eaten.  The  sheikh  calls 
together  eleven  members,  as  a  council,  with  himself, 
to  decide,  out  of  perhaps  as  many  as  five  hundred 
applications,  who  shall  be  the  sixty-five  chosen  ones ; 
age,  piety,  and  renown  for  a  self-denying  life  for  others, 
being  the  chief  claim  to  selection — the  Syed  el-Demer- 
dache  having  the  power  of  veto. 

This  year  (1911)  the  retreat  was  in  the  Moslem 
month  which  corresponded  to  our  August,  and  it  was  on 
Monday  afternoon,  the  I4th,  that  the  selected  members 
arrived  for  it,  to  be  first  entertained,  at  sunset,  to  a 
royal  banquet  by  their  chief.  I  was  told  that  a  certain 
ancient  Eastern  dish  called  Kunafa  was  in  great  request, 
in  view  of  the  three  days'  fast,  because  of  its  quality  of 
very  slow  digestion.  This  dish,  which  I  often  ate  in 
Egypt,  was  invented  by  the  chef  of  Munawiah,  the  son 
of  Abou  Soufian,  the  first  of  the  Omayad  caliphs  (664 
A.D.).  Its  special  purpose  was  to  stay  the  pangs  of 
hunger  of  the  Caliph  during  the  fast  of  Rhamadan  as 
long  as  possible.  It  is  made  of  wheat-flour,  produced 
like  fine  vermicelli,  and  is  fried  with  a  little  clarified 
butter,  and  sweetened,  generally  with  honey.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  highly  appreciated  of  all  the  native 
dishes. 

After  an  evening  spent  in  prayer,  the  men  clothe 
themselves  in  white  robes,  and  are  led  to  their  cells, 
where  they  must  stay  for  three  days  and  nights,  coming 
out  only  to  make  the  noon  prayer  in  the  mosque.  They 
must  deny  themselves  of  all  sleep.  To  make  sure  of  this, 


168         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

a  servant  of  the  mosque  goes  the  round  of  the  cells  calling 
"  La-ilaha-illal-ah  !  "  ("  There  is  but  one  God  !  "),  and 
if  the  inmate  fails  of  the  response,  "  Wa-Mohammed 
Rasoul-oul  lah ! "  ("  Mohammed  is  the  Prophet  of 
God  !  ")  the  cell  door  is  opened,  and  the  anchorite  must 
come  out  to  perform  an  ablution — surely  an  effective  way 
of  driving  away  sleep. 

No  word  but  this  must  be  spoken  to  any  soul  during 
the  retreat,  except  to  say,  if  challenged,  "  There  is  but 
one  God  !  "  And  the  recluse  must  wrap  himself  closely 
in  his  white  robe  when  he  leaves  his  cell  for  the  prayer. 

The  only  food  allowed  is,  in  the  evening,  a  plate  of 
rice,  cooked  in  oil.  Coffee,  however,  is  taken  to  the 
cells  about  eight  times  during  the  night,  and  in  the 
morning  a  glass  of  lemonade  is  served. 

When  the  time  of  retreat  is  ended,  the  sheikh,  also 
dressed  in  white,  but  with  a  green  turban,  goes,  with 
other  servants  of  the  Order,  to  each  door  to  bring  out 
the  devotees ;  the  only  word  spoken  being  "  Allah  ! 
Allah  !  " 

Together  the  white  throng  go  to  the  mosque,  where 
one  of  those  great  dervish  zikrs  is  performed,  in  which 
that  intense  projection  of  the  mind  into  what  is  intended 
for  the  worship  and  adoration  of  God,  finds  its  only 
expression  in  the  constant  repetition  of  the  word  "  Allah  ! 
Allah  !  Allah  !  "  accompanied  by  the  swaying  of  the 
head  and  body  to  the  verge  of  total  exhaustion. 

These  white-robed  men  stand  in  rows,  their  faces 
Kibla-wards — in  Egypt  Mecca  is  towards  the  East — 
with  the  saint's  tomb  also  in  front  of  them.  Their  chant 
begins  as  a  low  murmur  ;  the  contagion  and  the  con- 
centration increase  almost  to  a  frenzy,  while  the  dia- 
pason of  adoration  swells  into  a  great  rugged  anthem, 


Photo]  [D  it  trick,  Cairo. 

A  TYPICAL  STREET  SCENE  IN  CAIRO  :  SHARIA  HELMIEH. 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       169 

with  that  single  theme,  "Allah!  Allah!!  Allah-u- 
Akhbar  !  !  !  "  The  cadences  fall  again,  and  rise,  and 
finally  die  away. 

And  when  the  zikr  is  over  there  is  another  great 
banquet ;  and  then  these  men  return  to  the  world 
and  their  daily  avocations.  And  people  of  the  West, 
to  whom  such  ecstasy  is  a  sealed  mystery,  when  they 
hear  of  it,  ask,  as  they  always  have  asked — What  does  it 
mean  to  the  men  who  take  part  in  it  ?  What  is  the  spirit 
or  the  motive  or  the  feeling  behind  such  a  manifesta- 
tion ? 

An  Egyptian  friend  of  mine,  a  man  of  Western 
education,  and  a  graduate  in  an  English  university, 
when  I  came  to  know  him  well,  made  a  sort  of  confession 
to  me,  that  he  sometimes  attended  a  zikr  led  by  a  sober, 
pious  old  sheikh  of  his  acquaintance.  The  apologetic 
tone  was  accounted  for  by  his  knowing  that  I  considered 
the  whole  doctrine  of  ecstasy  highly  mischievous  in  Islam, 
as  in  any  other  religion.  For  one  thing,  I  think  the 
teaching  of  the  Prophet  is  against  it.  The  idea  of  the 
mystic  or  recluse  does  not  accord  with  the  robust  op- 
position he  always  showed  to  any  sort  of  withdrawal 
from  the  social  and  public  duties  of  life  ;  of  all  things 
his  instructions  were  clear  that  there  was  to  be  "  no 
monkery  in  Islam,"  but  each  man  was  to  have  direct 
access  to  God  for  himself.  However,  it  is  in  Egypt  that 
stern  foes  of  mysticism  are  to  be  found.  Many  pro- 
minent Moslems  shared  my  regrets  that  the  dervish 
rites  should  have  claimed  so  large  a  share  in  the  atten- 
tions of  foreign  critics,  who  have  judged  Islam  by  what 
is  declared  to  be  only  a  caricature  of  it. 

"  I  cannot  explain  the  matter,"  my  graduate  friend 
said,  "  but  let  me  ask  you,  is  it  not  a  good  thing  some- 


1 70        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

times  to  detach  the  mind  from  the  things  of  this  life, 
in  utter  contemplation  of  the  great  God  ?  I  look  upon 
an  evening  I  spent  in  this  way,  this  week,  as  given  up  to 
pure  worship.  And  the  sheikh  with  whom  I  spent  it 
has  great  power.  I  wish,  for  one  thing,  that  I  could 
write  for  you  the  beautiful  Arabic  couplets  recited  at 
his  suggestion — call  it  hypnotic  suggestion  if  you  like — 
by  the  lads  of  his  c  way,'  or  guild,  who  were  there. 
Apart  from  the  zikr,  not  one  of  those  poor  boys  could 
have  commanded  such  language  as  they  used,  one  by 
one,  in  regular  order,  to  celebrate  the  praises  of  God  !  " 

I  learned  that  this  sheikh  would  start  the  circle  with  a 
line  of  verse,  and  each  of  his  disciples  at  the  zikr  would 
add  another  line,  with  no  deviation  from  poetic  form, 
and  with  great  beauty  of  devotional  thought. 

Something  must,  I  think,  be  allowed  for  the  sensuous 
delight  in  melody  which  all  Eastern  people  have,  and 
the  deep  fascination  they  find  in  what  seems  to  us  like 
mere  repetition.  The  excessive  emotion  and  physical 
exertion  together  produce  great  enthusiasm,  and  a  quite 
marvellous  lucidity  of  intelligence,  such  as  these  lads 
showed.  One  observer  of  Egyptian  life  was  inclined  to 
think  that  the  zikr  should  be  classed  with  other  lacera- 
tions of  the  flesh,  and  allowed  its  due  share  of  indulgence 
as  one  of  the  means  by  which  matter  may  be  subjugated 
that  spirit  may  be  free.  There  are  climes  and  periods 
that  seem  to  stand  in  need  of  some  such  process,  and 
in  which  mental  torpidity,  like  the  effects  of  soporific 
poison,  can  only  be  combated  by  such  strange  means 
as  these. 

I  discussed  the  matter  with  the  sheikh  of  Demer- 
dache,  who  is  an  educated  man,  with  an  appreciation 
of  modern  and  even  Western  ideas,  and  without  a  trace 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       171 

of  intolerance,  as  well  as  with  other  sheikhs  of  different 
degrees  and  orders.  I  reminded  the  sheikh  of  Demer- 
dache  that  Ghazzali  and  other  authorities  had  dis- 
approved of  ecstasy,  suggesting  that  it  was  a  possession  of 
an  evil  spirit ;  just  as  Wesley  in  criticism  of  some  of 
his  own  emotional  auditors,  who  were  thrown  into  a 
state  of  great  excitement  bordering  on  catalepsy,  said, 
"  Satan  sometimes  mimics  the  work  of  grace."  It  was  the 
mystic  poet  of  Islam  (Rumi),  I  was  reminded,  who  said — 

"  Vile  hypocrites  steal  the  language  of  dervishes, 
In  order  to  beguile  the  simple  with  their  trickery." 

Put  briefly,  all  the  dervish  doings,  as  explained  by  those 
who  approve  of  them,  are  attempts  to  gain  a  religion 
of  the  heart.  They  have  generally  been  initiated  by 
men— there  have  been  women  mystics  too — who  have 
become  intoxicated  with  the  adoration  and  the  love  of 
God.  Some  have  carried  ecstasy  so  far  as  to  reach  a 
sort  of  self-annihilation,  so  that  they  have  become 
oblivious  to  pain  :  "  forgetful  of  pain  through  absorp- 
tion in  God,"  as  Rabai,  the  woman  Sufi,  stated  it. 
They  have  even  sought  a  death  of  self  which  has  involved 
the  death  of  all  human  affections. 

Mysticism  has  revealed  itself  in  all  religions  ;  it  is 
perhaps  due  to  the  peculiar  temperament  of  the  Arabs 
and  the  Persians  that  ecstatic  phenomena  have  been 
wider  spread  and  more  permanent  in  Islam.  Describing 
the  Arab,  Herr  von  Kremer  says  he  is  capable  of  the 
fiercest  momentary  excitement,  but  quickly  subsides 
into  a  state  of  complete  apathy  which  is  pain-prooL 
And  Dr.  Bilharz  speaks  of  the  astonishing  anaesthesia 
which  patients  in  the  medical  school  in  Cairo,  where 
he  was  a  professor,  exhibited  under  the  most  painful 


i;2        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

operations  ;  hardly  uttering  a  sound  when  operated 
upon  in  the  most  sensitive  nerve  centres. 

The  Sufi  of  whom  it  is  told  that  he  fell  into  a  re- 
ligiously ecstatic  condition  and  ran  into  a  field  where 
the  newly  cut  stubble  pierced  his  feet  like  knives, 
possibly  felt  nothing.  As  many  of  the  men  and  lads  I 
have  known,  who  have  taken  part  in  dervish  perform- 
ances, handling  red-hot  irons,  pushing  swords  through 
their  cheeks  and  needles  through  their  eyelids,  and  so 
on,  have  afterwards  assured  me  was  the  case  with 
themselves. 

Medical  science  has  still  to  determine  how  it  is 
that  nature  can  adapt  itself  to  such  perversions  as  the 
chewing  and  swallowing  of  broken  glass  without  exacting 
the  expected  penalty.  A  physician  of  my  acquaintance 
went  to  North  Africa  with  the  special  idea  of  examining 
such  cases,  in  the  city  of  Kairouan.  He  was  convinced 
that  the  manifestation  was  perfectly  genuine,  fraud 
having  no  part  in  it.  He  thought,  as  most  medical 
men  do,  that  an  hysterical  condition  is  produced  by 
excitement,  during  which  the  chief  dervish  makes 
hypnotic  suggestions  to  his  subjects.  That  broken 
glass  could  be  swallowed  by  a  hypnotised  person  he 
thinks  is  easily  understood,  but  he  could  not  understand 
how  it  could  prevent  internal  lacerations.  He  saw  no 
sign  of  pain  during  the  rites ;  and  another  doctor 
who  has  examined  such  cases,  on  the  following  morning 
could  find  no  trace  of  ill  effect.  I  have  myself  seen 
and  examined  the  sword  wounds  the  next  day,  without 
a  sign  of  inflammation,  and  quite  dry. 

As  for  the  whirling  dervishes,  whose  zikrs  some 
visitors  are  so  anxious  to  see  in  Cairo,  and  who  are 
now  obliged  to  perform  in  a  semi-private  way  owing 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       173 

to  the  discouragement  of  the  authorities,  it  is  claimed, 
by  modern  educated  Moslems,  that  many  of  them 
should  be  ranged  with  "  the  mere  froth  and  foam  of 
mysticism,"  like  "  Shakers "  in  England  and  America, 
like  the  Anabaptists  of  Munster.  There  is  one  sect  of 
dancing  dervishes,  however,  which  had  its  birth  in 
purest  mysticism,  having  continued  for  six  hundred 
years.  They  were  founded  by  the  mystical  poet, 
Rumi,  who  instituted  the  dances,  which  he  ordered  to 
be  accompanied  by  the  flute,  to  console  him  in  the  pain 
of  separation  from  an  exiled  friend  ;  and  the  head  of 
the  Order  has  always  been  a  descendant  of  the  founder. 
The  gyrations  of  this  Order  were  intended  to  symbolise 
the  wheelings  of  the  planet  round  their  central  sun, 
and  the  attraction  of  the  creature  to  the  Creator  !  In 
Turkey  this  Mevlevi  sect  is  so  powerful  that  the  corona- 
tion of  the  Sultan  is  not  considered  complete  until  he 
has  been  girded  with  a  sword  by  the  head  of  the  Order. 


CHAPTER   V 

"  He  only  shall  visit  the  Mosques  of  God  who  believeth  in  God  and 
the  Last  Day,  and  is  instant  in  prayer,  and  payeth  alms,  and  feareth  God 
only.  These  haply  will  be  among  the  rightly  guided." 

Koran,  Sura  ix.  18. 

I  HAVE  always  been  curious  about  the  organisation  of 
the  mosques.  To  the  Western  visitor  there  never  seem 
to  be  any  signs  of  regular  government.  No  names  of 
clergy,  or  lists  of  services,  appear  at  the  doors  or  gates  ; 
there  is  never  a  sign  of  the  presence  of  men  set  apart 
for  spiritual  oversight  of  a  congregation.  As  in  so 
many  other  things  in  Islam,  there  is  a  seemingly  casual 
air  about  the  affairs  of  every  mosque,  as  the  stranger 
sees  them,  which,  superficially,  suggests  that  things  are 
allowed  to  manage  themselves. 

See  this  funeral  procession  enter  the  sacred  building  ; 
the  men  bearing  the  bier,  slipping  off  their  shoes  at 
the  door  and,  hurrying  across  the  carpet  with  the 
promiscuous  little  band  of  mourners,  set  the  bier  down 
before  the  Kibla.  Do  the  staff  of  the  mosque  know  of 
its  appearance  ?  Is  any  man  of  the  sheikh  class  present 
to  conduct  the  funeral  prayers  ?  Not  at  all  !  The 
bearers  themselves  are  sure  to  know  a  Sura  of  the 
Koran,  which  they  will  now  recite  in  the  mosque,  and 
almost  every  man  who  may  at  the  moment  the  funeral 
appears  be  sitting  or  praying  there,  knowing  how 
highly  meritorious  it  is — by  the  Prophet's  word — to 


174 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       175 

assist  with  a  funeral,  will  at  once  close  up  with  the 
mourners  and  recite  with  them  the  Koranic  passages. 
So  far  as  there  are  priests  in  Islam — and  clericalism  or 
priestcraft,  as  they  are  known  in  the  West,  are  ab- 
horrent to  its  spirit — every  man  is  a  priest.  The  little 
unordered  ceremony  in  the  mosque  (which  may  be  miles 
from  the  burying-place)  lasts  only  for  a  few  minutes. 
Strangers  in  the  mosque  will  relieve  the  bearers,  and 
carry  the  bier  into  the  street,  and  all  the  way  to  the 
cemetery  casual  men  will  quietly  take  a  share  in  the 
sad  burden,  for  a  few  yards  at  least.  Where  all  are 
willing  to  help,  and  to  people  who  put  so  little  value 
on  precision,  what  we  call  organisation  seems  to  be 
unnecessary. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  prayers.  It  is  always  a 
surprise  to  me  to  see  how,  in  the  greatest  mosques,  a 
vast  crowd  of  worshippers  will  arrange  themselves  in 
the  rows  for  concerted  worship,  so  that  when  the 
Imam  takes  his  place  there  will  be  no  sign  of  confusion, 
though  any  person  with  the  functions  of  the  English 
sidesman  or  the  professional  beadle  is  quite  unknown. 
I  have  seen,  in  tire  desert,  a  thousand  men  gather  in 
small  groups  and  range  themselves  for  prayer  without 
a  word  of  direction  being  spoken,  or  the  presence  of 
any  man  whose  office  was  to  marshal  them  into  the 
necessary  precision  of  order. 

And  yet  one  must  know  that  every  mosque  with 
the  call  to  prayer  resounding  from  its  minaret  five 
times  a  day,  and  with  its  necessity  of  at  least  a  regular 
Imam  to  lead  the  Friday  prayer,  with  its  lights  to  be 
hung  at  nightfall,  with  its  necessity  for  scrupulous 
cleanliness,  especially  of  its  carpet  or  mats,  and  an 
unfailing  supply  of  water  for  the  ablutions  of  its 


176         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

worshippers,  must  presuppose  an  organisation  of  some 
sort. 

The  distinguished  sheikh  who  is  the  head  of  all  the 
mosques  of  Egypt  which  are  under  the  Wakfs  Administra- 
tion in  Cairo,  very  kindly  enlightened  me  on  this  matter. 
Under  his  control  there  are  1414  mosques,  with  7331 
"  servants  of  the  mosques." 

As  this  office  of  the  Wakfs  plays  a  great  and  ever- 
increasing  part  in  the  life  of  Egypt,  and  has  tremendous 
political  significance,  an  explanation  of  its  origin  and 
functions  will  be  of  interest.  It  was  in  the  year  1835 
that  the  great  Mohammed  All  created  the  Administra- 
tion Office  of  the  Wakfs  (or  charities  of  the  pious)  in 
Egypt,  to  exercise  control  over  the  immense  funds 
which  had  been  left  for  every  sort  of  religious  and 
charitable  purpose.  After  various  changes  of  its  Direc- 
tion, in  which  the  Government,  at  times,  had  a  part,  in 
1884  the  Wakfs  became  an  independent  Administration, 
with  the  Khedive  as  its  supreme  Director.  The 
Minister  of  Finance  has,  however,  some  sort  of  over- 
sight. The  immense  power  wielded  by  the  Director 
may  be  gauged  from  the  fact  that  the  annual  income 
is  considerably  over  three-quarters  of  a  million  pounds ; 
and  there  was  in  December  1910  a  floating  balance  of 
^300,000.  It  is  a  power  that  seems  to  demand  more 
political  consideration  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain 
than  it  receives,  for  in  it  lie  immense  potentialities 
of  ill  as  of  good  to  the  country.  It  is  easy  to 
understand  why  everything  that  Oriental  skill  can 
devise  is  done  to  increase  its  power  over  the  people. 
The  following  list  shows  approximately  how  the  money 
is  spent : — 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       177 

L  (Egyptian) 

Subsidies  to  schools  under  the 

Administration  . .  . .  1,486 

Allowances  to  benevolent  schools 

and  societies  . .  .  .  16,914 

Religious  institutions,  including 

the  University  of  Al  Azar  .  .  52>47° 

Kuttabs  (religious  schools  under 
the  direction  of  the  Ministry 
of  Public  Instruction)  . .  24^77 

Salaries  of  mosque  officials  .  .  65,315 

Poorhouses,  asylums,  and  orphan- 
ages ..  ..  ..  19,951 

Independent  poorhouses  ..  J>937 

Hospitals  and  clinics       . .  . .  I35°73 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  benefits  of  British 
administration  have  added  enormously  to  the  income 
of  these  Wakfs,  from  lands  and  property;  at  the  same 
time  improved  internal  management  has  added  to  the 
resources.  But  Great  Britain  should  reflect  on  the 
uses  that  are  now  being  made  of  the  wealth  she  has 
created. 

In  addition  to  the  power  of  veto  over  all  appoint- 
ments connected  with  the  Wakfs  Administration,  the 
unlimited  power  of  the  Director  in  the  dispensing  of 
the  funds,  even  for  non-religious  purposes,  may  be  gauged 
from  the  following  quotation  from  the  last  official 
report : — 

"  A  certain  number  of  families,  formerly  in  good 
circumstances,  having  fallen  into  poverty,  place  all 
their  hope  of  a  living  in  the  benevolence  of  the  Wakfs. 
To  come  to  their  aid  and  to  alleviate  their  misfortunes, 
especially  among  the  great  families,  His  Highness  the 
Khedive  has  deigned  to  extend  to  them  his  benevolent 
12 


I78        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

solicitude,  and  to  them  has,  in  his  capacity  as  Nazir 
Chari  (supreme  head)  of  the  charitable  Wakfs,  allocated 
to  them  subventions  and  subsidies,  by  which  they  may 
be  enabled  to  provide  themselves  with  the  necessities 
of  life.  This  amount  in  1911  totalled  ^9000,  divided 
between  339  families."  Twenty- two  of  these  families 
divide  between  them  yearly  .£2340. 

In  the  Wakfs  Administration  there  are  three  distinct 
offices  for  the  management  of  the  mosques  :  (i)  for 
the  nomination  and  control  of  the  officials ;  (ii)  for  the 
purchase  of  furniture  and  stores,  and  control  of  such 
matters  as  lighting,  water,  cleaning,  and  repairs ;  also 
taking  charge  of  the  gifts  in  kind  destined  for  the  use 
of  the  mosques  by  the  faithful,  such  as  bread,  clothing, 
and  other  things  for  the  poor ;  (iii)  for  appointment  and 
control  of  inspectors,  religious  and  secular,  this  de- 
partment having  charge  of  the  correspondence  concern- 
ing the  Friday  prayer  of  His  Highness  the  Khedive, 
also  the  invitations  to  religious  ceremonies  in  the 
mosques  and  to  the  great  moolids. 

The  chief  secular  inspector  occupies  himself  with  the 
oversight  of  the  charitable  and  scholastic  institutions 
belonging  to  the  mosques  (very  many  of  the  mosques 
having  schools  attached)  ;  keeping  the  accounts  of  the 
new  mosques  which  they  build,  and  those  which  are 
put  under  their  management ;  seeing  to  the  lighting 
and  cleanliness  of  these  mosques.  Also  the  inspectors 
have  the  control  of  the  supply  and  distribution  of 
the  vast  quantities  of  bread  given  to  the  ulemas, 
the  students,  and  the  poor,  by  virtue  of  charitable 
bequests. 

The  religious  inspectors  are  charged  with  watch- 
ing over  the  professors,  preachers,  and  imams  (leaders 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       179 

of  prayer)  ;  they  prepare  and  decide  for  each  mosque 
the  list  of  lessons,  and  the  hours  of  the  course  of  in- 
struction. They  give  advice  as  to  the  way  the  teacher 
should  treat  his  subject,  with  a  view  to  the  compre- 
hension of  his  public.  They  choose  equally  the  subjects 
for  the  Friday  sermon,  and  urge  the  preachers  to  deliver 
their  homilies  in  a  way  to  appeal  to  the  heart  and  the 
mind — to  be,  in  the  words  of  the  Wakfs  last  official 
report,  "  touching  and  instructive."  They  regulate 
the  times  of  the  Koran  readings  in  the  lecture-rooms, 
with  regard  to  the  convenience  of  the  public  in  different 
places.  Indeed,  they  control  the  movements  of  the 
whole  staff  of  these  sheikhs. 

The  officers  of  this  last  bureau  admit  that  they 
have  found  much  to  remedy  in  the  manner  of  appoint- 
ment to  the  mosques,  as  well  as  in  the  quality  of  the 
men  chosen.  One  reason  has  been  the  pitifully  small 
remuneration,  which  in  some  cases  has  led  to  the 
absolute  necessity  of  a  sheikh,  who  snould  have  been 
entirely  free  to  serve  the  mosque,  having  to  seek  em- 
ployment elsewhere  to  gain  his  sustenance,  to  the 
neglect  of  his  religious  duties.  Under  the  new  regime 
a  large  sum  of  money  has  been  devoted  to  the  remedy 
of  this  fault. 

Mosques — the  sheikh  explained  to  me — are  of  two 
kinds.  The  proper  mosque,  what  we  should  call  perhaps 
the  cathedral,  which  is  used  for  the  five  daily  prayers, 
the  Friday  noon  prayer,  and  the  two  great  Feast 
Prayers,  which  are  performed  at  the  end  of  the  Fast 
of  Rhamadan  and  at  the  Moslem  New  Year.  And 
the  zawia,  or  little  mosque,  like,  say,  a  parish  church, 
which  is  prepared  only  for  the  ordinary  daily 
prayers. 


i8o         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

The  big  mosque  is  prepared  for  the  prayers  by  the 
furniture  which  distinguishes  it  : — 

A  pulpit. 

A  sura  chair,  from  which  the  Koran  is  recited. 

A  raised  stone  platform  (in  the  very  large  mosques) 
in  which  a  sheikh,  who  can  see  the  Imam  at 
the  Kibla,  follows  his  leading  of  the  prayers 
so  that  he  can  be  seen  by  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, many  of  whom  could  not  possibly  see 
the  Imam. 

In  the  early  days  of  Islam,  no  town  had  more  than 
one  mosque,  to  which  all  the  inhabitants  resorted. 
Many  primitive  communities  keep  to  this  rule  to  this 
day.  At  Omdurman  one  marvels  to  see  the  extent  of 
the  floor  of  the  mosque  where  the  Mahdi  and  his 
successor  led  the  prayers  of  many  thousands  of  people 
at  one  time.  In  time,  with  the  growth  of  population 
in  the  towns,  and  especially  the  development  of  sects 
(the  difference  in  which  was  mostly  in  small  matters  of 
ritual)  mosques  were  multiplied.  As  riches  increased, 
and  the  Prophet's  wishes  against  luxury  were  forgotten, 
wealth  was  lavished  on  the  mosques,  and  rich  men 
embellished  them  with  costly  furnishings,  especially 
with  carpets  and  mats  and  beautiful  lanterns.  A  mud 
floor,  a  primitive  roof  which  did  not  keep  out  the  rain, 
the  stump  of  a  tree  for  a  tribune,  these  fulfilled  the 
requirements  of  the  great  Prophet,  who  declared  that 
no  money  is  more  wasted  than  that  put  into  ostentatious 
building. 

The  pulpit  was  raised  a  step  or  two  in  Mohammed's 
day,  so  that  he  might  be  seen  by  all  when  preaching. 
It  has  been  further  gradually  raised — against  the  Caliph 
Omar's  wishes,  however — until  the  present  number  of 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       181 

eight  steps  was  agreed  upon.  The  sura  chair  was,  of 
course,  unknown  in  the  early  days  when  the  Koran  was 
recited  from  the  floor  of  the  mosque  :  the  chair  developed 
with  the  elaboration  of  binding  and  decoration  of  the 
copies  of  the  Koran,  which  made  the  book  of  such  great 
size  that  a  support  was  necessary  for  it.  This  support 
came  to  be  raised  about  four  feet  from  the  floor,  and  so 
continues. 

It  was  in  discussing  this  question  of  the  early 
simplicity  of  Islam  with  another  gentle  old  sheikh, 
who  had  made  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  that  he  de- 
plored to  me  the  loss  of  the  ideals  of  the  Prophet's  day, 
which  had  made  it  possible  for  men  to  lavish  useless 
wealth,  even  on  the  tomb  of  the  Prophet  himself. 

"  While  education,  and  the  care  of  suffering  man- 
kind, is  neglected  in  the  sacred  cities,"  he  said,  "  there 
is  in  the  chamber  at  Medina,  in  which  Mohammed  was 
buried,  a  diamond  of  the  estimated  value  of  over  .£50,000, 
which  was  presented  by  the  Sultan  Ahmed  Khan  i.  ; 
and  many  other  gifts  of  the  sort — some  to  the  Kaaba 
at  Mecca — worth  millions  of  pounds  sterling.  This  is 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  great  man  buried  there, 
or  of  his  first  successors,  who  knew  his  wishes,  from 
having  lived  and  worked  with  him.  Omar  hated  all 
display,  especially  in  pretentious  buildings.  He  would 
not  allow  a  balcony  to  be  made  to  the  new  houses  built 
in  Egypt,  as  it  encouraged  spying,  a  thing  greatly  hated 
by  Arab  people ;  he  commanded  that  all  buildings 
everywhere  were  to  be  lowly  and  simple,  and  he  compelled 
one  of  his  chief  generals,  Saad,  to  pull  down  the  gateway 
he  had  built  before  his  palace.  If  Omar  had  had  his 
way  there  never  would  have  been  a  pulpit  in  the  mosques 
to  *  set  the  preacher  higher  than  the  congregation.' 


1 82        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

"  It  fills  me  with  sadness  to  see  the  vulgarity  of 
display  which  now  possesses  the  Moslem  people.  To 
have  a  grand  wedding,  or  a  funeral,  and  '  appear  big  ' 
to  their  neighbours,  many  Moslems,  especially  in  towns 
like  Cairo,  will  spend  large  sums  of  money,  sometimes 
getting  into  debt  for  the  purpose.  And  all  the  time 
we  lag  behind  modern  civilisation  in  our  neglect  of 
public  service  and  organised  good  works.  There  is, 
however,  a  small  band  of  men  who  have  joined  together 
in  a  pledge  to  resist  extravagant  public  display. 

"  When  my  own  wife  died,"  he  continued,  "  I  agreed 
with  my  only  child,  my  daughter,  that  our  beloved 
should  be  carried  to  the  grave  with  the  utmost  simplicity, 
and  that  we  would  ignore  the  costly  custom  of  erecting 
a  booth,  with  elaborate  illumination,  outside  the  house, 
and  the  engaging  of  famous  Koran  readers.  We  did 
everything  we  could  to  pay  respect  to  the  dead,  and  to 
observe  the  necessary  commands  of  our  religion,  so  far 
as  they  did  not  lead  to  a  great  outlay.  The  consequence 
was  that  we  saved  nearly  ^100,  which  we  gave  to 
educate  a  poor  girl ;  and  I  believe  there  is  a  growing 
number  of  people  who  will  be  willing  to  do  the  same 
if  only  we  can  arouse  something  of  that  '  public  spirit ' 
which  is  such  a  noble  feature  of  English  life." 

The  Prophet  always  led  the  prayers  of  his  people, 
and  preached  on  Fridays,  his  example  so  far  being 
followed  that  for  generations  one  of  the  chief  duties  of 
the  caliphs  was  to  do  the  same.  Many  sermons  of 
Mohammed,  of  Abu  Bakr,  of  Omar,  Othman,  Ali,  and 
other  leaders  of  early  Islam,  are  preserved  ;  simple 
moral  discourses,  calling  men  to  truth  and  justice, 
brotherly  love  and  equity,  industry  for  success  in  this 
world,  with  watchfulness  over  the  claims  of  eternity. 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       183 

God  gave  you  this  world  that  you  might  aspire  to  the 
next ;  He  did  not  give  it  you  to  foster  avariciousness 
in  you.  This  world  will  pass,  but  the  next  is  everlasting. 
Do  not  let  this  transitory  life  so  fascinate  you  that  you 
become  careless  of  that  which  is  eternal.  Be  not  of 
those  who  "  purchase  this  present  life  at  the  expense 
of  that  which  is  to  come  :  their  torment  shall  not  be 
lightened,  neither  shall  they  be  helped  "  (Sura  ii.  80). 
Your  conclusion  is  with  God  the  Almighty.  Obey 
Him  ;  and  in  obeying  Him  you  will  have  the  shelter  of 
His  power. 

When  the  caliphs  and  princes  of  Islam  no  longer 
preached  to  the  people,  but  paid  imams  were  engaged 
for  the  office,  the  sermon  became  formal,  and  then  was 
strictly  limited  to  set  phrases.  It  is  this  that  a  committee 
in  Cairo  is  working  to  reform. 

It  is  still  held  that  the  Caliph,  the  Sultan,  or  other 
chief  ruler  of  Islam,  is  responsible  for  the  sermon  on 
Friday,  through  his  own  words,  or  those  of  his  appointed 
agents.  Following  this  ruling,  the  Wakfs  Administra- 
tion must  always  get  the  sanction  of  His  Highness  the 
Khedive,  who  is  the  religious  ruler  and  the  leader  of 
prayer,  for  the  preachers  they  appoint ;  and  I  believe 
it  is  entirely  within  the  power  of  the  Khedive  to  give 
or  withhold  permission  to  any  mosque  to  hold  the 
Friday  prayer.  One  of  the  powers  of  the  Wakfs  Ad- 
ministration enables  them  to  threaten  that,  unless 
certain  conditions  which  they  lay  down  are  observed, 
the  Khedivial  order  will  be  withheld — Pordonnance 
Khediviale  fermettant  d'y  celebrer  la  -priere  du  Fendredi, 
as  the  Wakfs  report  puts  it.  A  Sheikh  El-Islam  a  few 
years  since  defined  this  power,  which  virtually  makes 
the  Khedive,  as  the  representative  of  the  Caliph  in 


1 84         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Egypt,  master  of  the  Church,  as  follows  :  "  The 
accomplishment  of  certain  religious  ceremonies,  such 
as  the  prayers  on  Friday  and  at  Bairam,  is  subordinated 
to  the  will  of  the  Caliph,  since  the  arrangement  of  cere- 
monies for  Islam  is  one  of  his  sacred  attributes.  Obedi- 
ence to  his  orders  is  one  of  the  most  important  religious 
duties.  As  to  our  mission  (he  was  speaking  of  the  duties 
of  the  religious  class),  it  consists  in  administering,  in  his 
name,  the  religious  affairs  which  he  deigns  to  confide 


to  us." 


A  second  committee,  meeting  in  Cairo,  watches  over 
the  work  of  the  servants  of  the  mosque,  and,  as  it 
is  formed  of  authoritative  men,  discipline  is  exerted 
through  its  decisions. 

The  sheikh  very  kindly  prepared  for  me  some  brief 
figures,  giving  the  cost  of  maintenance  of  the  largest 
and  of  the  smallest  mosques  in  Egypt.  I  thought  this 
would  show  in  a  nutshell  the  way  the  work  of  maintain- 
ing the  mosques  is  accomplished. 

ANNUAL  EXPENSES  OF  THE  LARGEST  MOSQUE 

The   most  expensive   mosque  in   Egypt  is  that   of 
Mohammed  Ali,  in  the  Citadel,  in  Cairo,  and  the  annual 
outlay  for  it  is  as  follows  : — 

£  (Egyptian)  Milliemes 
Salaries  of  the  different  servants, 

sixty-five  in  number  ..    1515  840 

Electric  light    .          .  .  46  320 

Water          ..  ..  ..        13  680 

Bread          .  .  .  .  •  •       75 

Meat  .  .  .  .  40 

Candles       .  .  .  .  89 

Straw          .  .  . .  .  .         2  400 

Perfumery  . .  . .  . .         i  200 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       185 

£  (Egyptian)  Milliemes 

Mats  . .  . .  92  850 

Brooms  and  washing  cloths      .  .          I  840 

Sundries      . .  .  .  . .          2  400 

The  carpets  had  been  renewed  this  year  at  a 

cost  of  £2139. 
(A  millieme  is  of  the  value  of  a  farthing.) 

For  some  time  the  Wakfs  Administration  supplied 
the  carpets  only  to  this  mosque  and  to  those  important 
mosques,  like  Hosein,  which  commemorate  the  family 
of  the  Prophet,  but  they  now  help  many  others  in  this 
way.  Each  year  they  now  buy  from  2500  to  3000  metres 
of  carpet ;  their  experience  having  shown  them  that 
the  carpets  of  the  East  wear  much  better  than  those 
of  Europe.  I  certainly  know  of  nothing  that  looks 
more  hideously  incongruous  than  a  Brussels  carpet  in 
a  mosque. 

The  smallest  mosque  is  that  of  Al  Sada  Al  Arbaein, 
at  Saliba,  Cairo,  which  costs  only  .£4  (Egyptian)  200 
milliemes  annually,  and  has  one  servant. 

Where  does  all  the  money  for  the  "  upkeep  "  of  the 
mosques  come  from  ?  The  collecting  of  money  from 
worshippers  inside  the  mosque  is  absolutely  forbidden, 
and,  indeed,  is  unknown.  The  distraction  a  "  collection  " 
would  be  from  the  worship  of  God  is  unthinkable  to 
the  Moslem  mind.  The  only  service  at  which  it  is 
permissible  at  all  is  when  the  two  great  feast  prayers 
are  performed  in  the  open  air,  as  they  often  are  in 
country  places,  when,  just  before  separating,  gifts  for 
the  poor  are  collected. 

The  money  for  the  support  of  many  mosques  comes 
from  subscriptions  privately  contributed  by  great 


1 86        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

families,  who  maintain  them  ;  or,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
great  number  under  the  Wakfs  Administration  in  Egypt, 
from  the  immense  charities  of  Islam  left  by  the  pious 
for  this  and  kindred  purposes. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  mosques  not  under  the 
Wakfs  Administration,  and  over  which  there  is  no  sort 
of  official  authority.  The  way  in  which  these  mosques 
are  governed  and  preserved  gives  a  perfect  illustration 
of  that  combined  realty  and  elusiveness  of  the  spirit 
of  Islam  which  the  practical  West,  with  its  devotion 
to  exact  rule  and  order,  tries,  almost  in  vain,  to  under- 
stand. I  give  the  account  of  the  particular  mosque  of 
one  of  the  villages  in  which  I  stayed,  almost  exactly 
in  the  words  of  a  friend,  who  modestly  refrains  from  any 
mention  of  the  fact  that  his  is  the  rich  family  which  in  this 
case  delights  to  guard  the  honour  of  the  House  of  Prayer. 

If  the  mosque  is  built  by  the  rich  man  of  the  village 
he  makes  himself  responsible  for  everything  connected 
with  the  repair  of  the  fabric,  and  he  will  buy  new  carpets 
or  mats  and  other  furnishings  when  needed.  If  he 
dies  it  will  always  be  the  pride  of  his  family  to  carry  on 
his  work.  There  is  no  compulsion  anywhere  :  if  there 
should  be  any  failure  on  the  part  of  the  family,  the  people 
of  the  village  would  unite,  in  an  informal  way,  to  keep 
their  mosque  in  order.  The  simplicity  of  such  a 
mosque  is  dear  to  the  worshippers,  who  wish  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  Prophet  in  this  particular. 

Is  there  no  committee,  with  a  secretary,  to  see  that 
the  work  is  done  regularly  ? — a  question  natural  to  my 
Western  mind.  Who  sees  to  the  paying  of  the  servants, 
and  punishes  negligence  of  duty  ?  The  call  to  prayer, 
for  instance,  how  important  it  must  be  to  have  a  regular 
and  conscientious  muezzin  ! 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       187 

In  name  there  is  no  committee,  but  it  is  understood, 
in  most  cases,  that  the  cadi  of  the  village  will  see  to  the 
proper  carrying  out  of  the  duties,  himself  taking  the  part 
of  the  Imam,  and  sometimes  of  the  muezzin,  as  well.  In 
no  case  are  these  duties  in  such  a  mosque  degraded  by . 
mercenary  consideration,  and  never  as  a  sole  means  of 
earning  a  living. 

The  Imam  is,  of  course,  the  leader  of  prayer  ;  the 
muezzin  is  he  who  calls  to  prayer  from  the  minaret  at 
the  proper  stated  times — no  slight  undertaking  when  it 
is  remembered  that  he  must  make  the  first  call  each  day 
before  the  sun  has  risen.  In  Egypt  the  sun  rises  early  in 
winter,  and  the  mornings  are  sometimes  bitterly  cold, 
inducing,  one  would  think,  to  neglect  of  such  a  duty  as 
that  of  the  muezzin. 

Nearly  every  village  has  devout  men  who  spend  most 
of  their  time  in  the  mosque,  reading  the  Koran  and  other 
books  of  devotion  ;  these  will  delight  to  perform  the 
duties  of  muezzin  and  Imam,  without  failure  or  neglect. 
Those  worshippers  who  have  means  will  entrust  to  such 
holy  men  certain  contributions  to  buy  oil  or  candles,  and 
even  to  buy  the  simple  bread  for  their  own  sustenance,  when 
they  are,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  penniless,  or  nearly  so. 

The  sheikh  of  Tanta  kindly  gave  me  details  of  the 
organisation  and  finances  of  the  very  ancient  great  school 
mosque  over  which  he  reigns  with  such  wise  and  kindly 
intelligence.  The  yearly  expenditure  is  .£10,000,  paid 
now  through  the  National  Wakfs,  and  from  alms  given 
direct  to  the  sheikh.  Up  to  the  year  1908  the  mosque 
was  a  separate  institution  ruled  by  the  ulemas,  but  the 
Khedive  then  placed  it  under  the  Wakfs  Administration. 
The  sheikh  is  appointed  by  the  Khedive,  but  may  only 
be  chosen  from  the  body  of  the  High  Ulema  of  Egypt, 


1 88        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

of  whom  there  are  always  thirty — the  appointment  of 
High  Ulema  being  for  life,  with  a  salary  of  ^240  yearly. 

In  Tanta  Mosque  there  is  a  sheikh,  a  sub-sheikh,  an 
inspector,  three  controllers,  ten  men  in  minor  posts,  and 
nearly  one  hundred  professors.  The  salary  of  the  sheikh 
is  £4$  monthly,  the  sub-sheikh  .£25,  the  inspector  £10, 
and  the  professors,  and  minor  employees,  take  between 
.£10  and  £$  each  monthly. 

The  power  of  the  sheikh  of  a  school  mosque  is  like 
that  of  a  rector  in  a  college.  These  chief  country  mosques 
of  Egypt,  which  are  at  Tanta,  Alexandria,  Dessouk,  and 
Damietta,  are  all  allied  to  Al  Azar  University.  Over 
them  all  there  is  a  superior  Board  of  Sheikhs,  presided 
over  by  the  Sheikh  Al-Azar,  including  all  the  heads  of 
the  school  mosques,  with  some  of  the  ulema  of  the  Cairo 
University,  this  Board  making  all  the  rules,  which  are 
carried  out  at  each  school  by  the  sheikh  and  a  committee. 

As  for  the  students,  they  are  drawn  from  all  classes  of 
society.  Strange  to  say,  although  the  Tanta  school,  like 
the  others,  is  open  to  all  the  Moslem  world,  this  year 
the  students  are  all  pure  Egyptians.  Possibly  the  lads 
who  come  from  afar  prefer  to  study  at  Al  Azar  itself  in 
the  capital.  The  only  qualification  for  admittance  is  to 
be  under  seventeen  years  of  age,  in  good  health,  and 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  Koran.  The  education  is  free, 
and  the  students  in  the  lower  classes  are  given  two  or 
three  loaves  of  bread  every  day,  while  the  senior 
students  take  five  loaves  a  day — they  are  about  the 
size  of  a  Yorkshire  tea-cake.  There  is  accommoda- 
tion for  those  students  who  are  too  poor  to  pay  for 
lodgings  in  the  town. 

The  teaching  at  Tanta  consists  of  "  all  branches 
of  Moslem  theology,  and  the  practice  of  religion,  all 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       189 

branches  of  the  Arabic  language,  the  history  of  the 
Prophet,  and  the  accredited  Traditions,  penmanship, 
mathematics,  astronomy,  philosophy,  logic  and  meta- 
physics, algebra,  drawing,  history,  geography,  physics, 
natural  history,  also  something  about  public  health, 
and  laws  and  administration."  I  quote  exactly  from  the 
sheikh's  words  for  this  curriculum,  which  he  admits  has 
been  enlarged  and  reformed  of  late  years. 

In  answer  to  my  question  as  to  what  are  the  aims 
and  ambitions  of  such  large  numbers  of  students  (there 
are  13,000  of  them  in  the  schools  I  have  mentioned  as 
allied  to  Al  Azar)  the  sheikh  replied,  "  Some  come  for 
the  love  of  study — but  not  many — others  to  qualify  as 
sheikhs  to  preach  or  teach  in  the  mosques,  or  in  the  schools, 
some  to  become  cadis,  or  judges,  in  Moslem  law  ;  while 
a  great  number  come  for  usual  education,  their  intention 
being  to  follow  the  careers  of  their  fathers,  in  professions, 
in  commerce,  agriculture,  or  as  gentlemen  of  leisure, 
being  the  sons  of  men  who  prefer  for  their  sons  a  religious 
or  Koranic  education  to  the  modern  teaching  of  the 
Government  schools — they  belong,  indeed,  to  the  sheikh 
class  of  the  turban  and  robe,  rather  than  to  the  effendi 
class  of  European  language  and  dress,  who  too  often, 
alas  !  lose  their  own  religion,  and  do  not  adopt  yours." 

I  may  conclude  this  chapter  with  one  of  the  "  free 
and  reformed  "  sermons  preached  in  Cairo  while  I  was 
there.  I  omit  the  usual  preface  of  the  profession  of 
faith  in  the  one  God,  and  the  praise  of  the  Prophet. 

"  The  Holy  Koran  says,  and  herein  is  the  duty  of 
man,  '  Worship  none  but  God,  and  be  good  to  your 
parents  and  kindred,  and  to  orphans  and  to  the  poor,  and 
speak  with  men  what  is  true,  and  pay  the  stated  alms ' 
(Sura  ii.  77).  Praise  be  to  Allah,  who  rewards  those  who 


190        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

fulfil  their  obligations  and  keep  their  trust.  Allah,  the 
most  true  of  all  tellers,  said — Be  faithful  to  your  pledges 
and  do  not  break  your  promises,  for  these  make  you 
responsible  to  God.  Be  sure  God  knows  what  you  do ; 
and  when  He  destined  you  as  the  best  of  all  peoples,  He 
commanded  you  to  do  good  and  forsake  evil.  The 
foundation  of  true  belief  is  faithfulness  in  the  perform- 
ance of  every  undertaking.  A  nation  which  lacks  this 
quality,  and  allows  itself  to  become  familiar  with  lying, 
will  be  misguided,  and  all  its  striving  will  be  in  vain. 
Suffering,  misery,  and  poverty  will  overtake  it,  and  in 
the  next  world  punishment  more  severe  and  lasting.  O 
creatures  of  God  !  I  call  you  to  the  practice  of  the  truth, 
and  faithfulness  in  every  trust.  Is  there  no  reward  even 
in  this  world  for  this  ? — To  be  believed  by  one's  friends, 
when  one  speaks,  to  be  trusted  in  all  the  affairs  of  life  ? 
Such  was  the  example  and  life  of  our  great  predecessors, 
who  were  before  all  things  faithful,  and  true  to  them- 
selves, and  to  one  another.  But,  alas !  we  have  for- 
feited the  great  teachings  of  our  religion,  that  stand  now 
as  a  remonstrance  against  us.  The  Prophet — on  whom 
be  blessings  and  peace — as  you  know,  hated  lying,  and  he 
declared,  '  There  is  no  belief  in  the  unfaithful,  nor  a 
religion  to  the  untrustful.' ' 

"  Shun  ye  the  word  of  falsehood,"  says  the  Koran 
(Sura  xxii.  31).  Mohammed  declared  that  the  guardian 
angel  moved  away  from  a  man  in  detestation  when  he 
told  a  lie.  By  the  testimony  of  all  men  who  knew  him 
Mohammed  was  a  truthful  man.  "  We  have  ever  found 
thee  a  speaker  of  the  truth,"  they  admitted,  even  in  the 
days  before  they  accepted  his  message. 

The  only  office  allowed  to  the  religious  teacher  is 


REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  MOSQUES       191 

advice,  guidance,  and  warning.  Just  as  the  layman  will 
only  with  extreme  reluctance  refer  to  the  faults  of  a 
brother  Moslem,  so  even  the  preacher  must  not  venture 
to  expose  the  follies  and  frailties  of  others ;  and  to  pry 
into  the  religious  beliefs  of  other  Moslems  is  not  per- 
mitted even  to  the  chief  sheikhs.  It  is  not  proper  to  make 
any  outer  show  of  repentance  ;  sin  can  only  be  confessed 
to  God  alone  and  in  the  secret  heart.  Of  all  these 
things,  God  will  judge  ;  and  every  function  of  priest- 
craft is  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  Islam. 


BOOK   III 
GREAT  FEASTS   AND   FESTIVALS 


CHAPTER    I 

"  Proclaim  among  the  people  a  Pilgrimage  :  let  them  come  on  foot 
and  on  every  fleet  camel,  coming  by  every  deep  defile  to  be  present  at 
its  benefit  ...  let  them  pay  their  vows,  and  circuit  the  ancient  Kaaba 
(the  site  of  which  God  assigned  to  Abraham).  .  .  .  This  do.  And  they 
who  perform  the  rites  of  God  should  perform  an  action  which  proceedeth 
from  piety  of  heart."  Koran,  Sura  xxii.  27-33. 

ONE  of  the  greatest  events  of  the  year  in  Egypt  is  the 
starting  of  the  Holy  Carpet  for  Mecca.  As  regularly  as 
the  month  of  fasting  comes  to  a  joyful  end  in  the 
Bairam  Feast,  the  populace  begin  to  look  forward  to 
the  festival  of  the  Mahmal,  as  not  only  marking  the 
time  of  the  setting  off  of  the  pilgrims  to  the  Holy  City, 
but  as  an  event  of  great  moment  to  all  men  religiously 
inclined,  especially  to  the  poor  who  have  few  hopes  of 
making  the  journey  themselves. 

To  thoroughly  know  a  subject  it  is  said  a  man  must 
write  a  book  about  it.  I  verily  believe  there  is  not  a 
man  living  who  can  give  an  intelligible  account  of  the 
Mahmal  of  Egypt,  who  has  not  either  written  a  book 
about  it,  or  assisted  in  the  writing  of  one  ;  and  then, 
most  of  the  accounts  are  wrong. 

For  a  whole  month  I  clung  to  the  Holy  Carpet,  as 
no  Moslem  has  had  the  opportunity  of  doing,  in  a 
determined  attempt  to  fathom  its  mysteries ;  and 
during  .that  time  I  only  found  two  men  who  had  any- 
thing like  a  clear  knowledge  of  its  origin  and  significance, 
its  manufacture  and  its  finances,  its  use  and  destination. 
One  was  the  Bey  of  the  Carpet,  the  gentleman  who  is 
appointed  by  the  Government  to  the  charge  of  it,  from 


195 


196         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  weaving  of  the  first  thread,  to  its  final  departure, 
and  who  has  even  escorted  the  sacred  burden  no  less 
then  eight  times  to  the  very  Kaaba  in  Mecca  itself. 
The  other  gentleman  was  Mohammed  Labib  Bey 
Al-Batanouni,  who  accompanied  H.H.  the  Khedive  of 
Egypt  on  his  Pilgrimage,  in  the  year  1908,  as  historian 
of  what  was  regarded  as  a  national  event. 

As  I  had  the  great  advantage  of  the  full  assistance 
of  both  these  authorities,  with  the  added  privilege 
of  penetrating  into  the  precincts  of  the  house  where 
the  Carpet  is  made  by  the  hereditary  craftsmen — the 
first  outsider  to  cross  that  guarded  threshold — I  feel 
justified  in  giving  an  account  of  what  I  learned  and  saw  ; 
with  the  thought — if  I  might  venture  on  this  without 
offence — of  dedicating  the  record  to  the  Moslems  of 
Cairo  themselves,  who  have  so  far  taken  the  Holy 
Carpet  for  granted  that  they  have  never  sought  for  the 
full  explanation  of  it.  A  surprising  fact,  if  one  did  not 
know  the  East,  when  one  learns  that  the  cost  of  the 
Pilgrimage  Caravan  of  the  Egyptian  Mahmal  is  no  less 
than  ^50,000  a  year,  mostly  borne  by  the  State,  including 
the  gifts  sent  to  Arabia  with  it. 

My  first  interest  was  whetted  by  the  permission, 
given  after  very  natural  delays  and  hesitations,  to  visit 
the  place  where  what  is  called  the  Carpet  is  woven 
every  year,  and  where  the  Mahmal  and  the  beautiful 
door  coverings  and  other  sacred  decorations  are  em- 
broidered. The  place  where  the  work  is  done  is  an 
ancient  Arab  house — once  a  minor  royal  palace — with 
the  usual  stern  outside  walls,  but  opening  under  an 
arched  gateway  into  the  square  courtyard,  which  at 
once  gives  light  and  space  and  air  to  the  house  to 
contradict  the  impression  of  the  narrow,  crooked  street. 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        197 

The  palace,  now  known  as  the  Khurunfish,  was  set 
apart  for  the  making  of  the  Carpet  by  Mohammed  All 
early  last  century. 

The  Bey  received  us  at  the  gate  with  courteous 
welcome ;  our  credentials  were  such  that  he  could 
promise  to  show  us  every  detail  of  his  work,  although 
our  presence  was  a  unique  event,  admission  being  denied 
even  to  Moslem  people. 

"  This  is  a  Government  place,"  he  said,  "  but  it  is 
kept  under  separate  rules,  and  is  not  accessible  as  other 
Government  offices  are."  I  turned  to  listen  to  the 
melodious  voice  of  a  sheikh  reading  the  Koran  in  a 
balcony  overlooking  the  courtyard.  "  Ours  is  the  only 
place  under  Government  where  the  Holy  Koran  is 
read.  This  place  is  as  sacred  as  a  mosque  during  the 
time  of  prayer." 

We  were  taken  at  once  to  a  long  room  to  see  the 
spinning  looms,  where  the  raw  yellow  silk  is  prepared 
before  being  dyed.  Next  we  saw  the  actual  weaving 
of  the  Carpet — how  it  ever  came  by  such  a  name 
could  not  be  imagined  when  one  has  seen  it.  In  reality, 
of  course,  it  is  the  outer  cover  of  the  Kaaba,  and  the 
name  "  Carpet "  is  never  applied  to  it  by  any  but 
Europeans,  who  persist  in  so  naming  it ;  and  what  is 
curious,  at  the  same  time  think  that  the  Mahmal,  which 
is  a  camel  palanquin,  really  goes  to  Mecca  with  a  carpet 
inside  it,  and  brings  it  back  to  Cairo.  There  is  no 
return  of  any  carpet  to  Cairo.  Tourists  who  think  they 
are  seeing  the  Holy  Carpet's  return  see  only  the 
Mahmal,  coming  back,  as  it  went,  quite  empty. 

It  would  be  better  to  speak  of  "  holy  curtains,"  of 
which  there  are  eight  used  in  the  complete  covering  of  the 
Kaaba.  Moslems  describe  the  whole  cover  as  the  Kiswa, 


198         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

meaning  "  robe  "  or  "  habit."  The  old  man,  Hadj 
Ahmed  el-Seidy,  who  has  worked  for  fifty  years  at  this 
place,  having  succeeded  his  fathers  in  a  task  which  is 
hereditary  to  his  family,  explained  to  us  the  weaving, 
of  which  he  and  his  son  alone  hold  the  secret.  His  is, 
of  course,  a  sacred  office  held  by  the  family  of  Seidy  ; 
the  hereditary  transmission  of  pursuits  and  customs  is  a 
tenacious  habit  of  the  Arab  people  from  remotest  times. 
It  is  this  that  gives  to  their  genealogies  and  their  tradi- 
tions so  much  credence. 

The  curtains  are  black,  and  the  art  of  making  them 
consists  of  weaving  the  Koran  texts  into  the  material, 
also  in  black,  with  an  effect  like  that  of  damask,  the 
lettering,  which  is  large,  being  in  the  decorative  Arabic. 
The  watered-silk  effect  of  the  lettering  is  most  striking, 
and  in  certain  lights,  when  the  cover  is  hung  upon  the 
Kaaba,  it  can  be  read  at  a  considerable  distance.  The 
sentence  woven  all  over  the  cover  is  the  Islamic  pro- 
fession of  faith — "  There  is  no  God  but  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  His  Prophet." 

The  length  of  the  curtains — we  were  allowed  to 
handle  them  quite  freely — is  about  fifteen  metres,  and 
the  breadth  of  each  of  the  eight  parts  nearly  five  metres, 
a  metre  being,  of  course,  thirty-nine  and  one-third 
inches.  Two  of  the  curtains  together  make  the  cover 
to  each  side  of  the  Kaaba.  They  are  tied  together  by 
strings,  which  are  sewn  on  by  pious  hands,  after  the 
Carpet  has  been  taken  to  the  Mosque  of  Hosein,  in 
Cairo,  which  sewing  I  also  saw  there,  and  have  already 
described. 

The  old  Hadj  did  not  at  first  take  kindly  to  my 
presence,  and  the  intentness  of  my  interest  in  his  sacred 
work ;  but  he  soon  thawed,  and  then  became  genial,  and 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        199 

even  enthusiastic,  as  he  explained  the  details,  and  showed 
to  me  all  the  beautiful  trappings,  the  tassels  worked  of 
gold,  and  other  elaborate  embroideries  which  go  to 
Mecca  at  the  same  time  as  the  cover.  He  has  been  to 
the  Holy  City  very  many  times,  as  he  superintends  the 
hanging  and  adjustment  of  the  cover  there,  details  of 
which  work  he  explained  to  me.  It  is  necessary  to  tie  the 
cover  very  securely  to  the  Kaaba,  as  the  winds  in  Mecca 
are  uncertain,  and  come  suddenly  from  all  directions.  It 
is  Buckhardt  who  has  a  poetical  passage  bearing  so 
exactly  on  this  very  point  of  the  hanging  of  the  cover. 
"  The  black  colour  of  the  Kiswa,  covering  a  large  cube  in 
the  midst  of  a  vast  square,  gives  to  the  Kaaba  at  first 
sight  a  very  singular  and  imposing  appearance.  As  it  is 
not  fastened  down  tightly,  the  slightest  breeze  causes  it 
to  move  in  slow  undulations,  which  are  hailed  with 
prayers  by  the  congregation  assembled  around  the 
building  as  a  sign  of  the  presence  of  its  guardian  angels, 
whose  wings  by  their  motion  are  supposed  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  waving  of  the  covering.  Seventy  thousand 
angels  have  the  Kaaba  in  their  holy  care,  and  are  ordered 
to  transport  it  to  Paradise  when  the  trumpet  of  the  last 
judgment  shall  be  sounded."  Being  woven  of  cotton 
and  silk,  the  weight  of  the  material  causes  the  curtains  to 
hang  firmly. 

A  few  years  ago,  the  Hadj  told  me,  it  was  thought  that 
the  old  hand-weaving  of  the  Cover  could  be  superseded 
by  machinery.  A  very  costly  loom  was  brought  from 
Manchester  ;  but  he  did  not  like  it,  and  so  went  back  to 
the  ancient  process,  the  secret  of  which  his  father  had 
taught  him.  The  inscription  woven  into  the  stuff,  it  is 
his  great  pride  to  know,  is  in  the  most  beautiful  form 
of  Arabic  writing,  "  as,  of  course,  it  must  be,"  he 


200        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

added,  "  for  to  weave  the  cover  for  Holy  Kaaba,  the 
centre  of  the  immense  world  of  Islam,  the  object  on 
which  every  Moslem  hopes  his  eyes  may  rest  at  least  once 
before  he  dies,  and  before  which  he  may  pray,  is  the 
greatest  of  earthly  honours." 

Before  I  left  him,  the  old  man  was  willing  even  to 
be  photographed,  being  encouraged  thereto  by  the  Bey. 

It  was  extremely  interesting  to  be  able  to  see  and 
handle  the  famous  band  which  encircles  the  Kaaba,  a 
little  above  the  middle,  and  which  has  been  described 
by  all  travellers  who  have  seen  it,  and  is  so  conspicuous 
in  all  photographs  of  the  chief  place  of  prayer  to  the 
whole  Moslem  world.  This  magnificent  belt  is  about 
two  and  a  half  feet  deep  ;  it  is  of  the  same  material  as 
the  cover,  with  what  is  called  the  Throne  verse,  from  the 
Koran,  heavily  embroidered  on  it  in  gold — "  God  ! 
there  is  no  God  but  He  ;  the  Living,  the  Eternal :  nor 
slumber  seizeth  Him  nor  sleep  ;  His  whatsoever  is  in 
the  Heavens,  and  whatsoever  is  in  the  Earth.  .  .  .  His 
Throne  reacheth  over  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth,  and 
the  upholding  of  both  burdeneth  Him  not ;  and  He  is 
the  High,  the  Great  "  (Sura  ii.  256).  It  is  edged  in 
silver  embroidery,  the  corners  of  the  border  being 
appliqued  with  green  silk,  also  ornamented  with  silver 
embroidery. 

The  hangings,  both  for  the  outside  and  the  inside  of 
the  doors  of  the  Kaaba,  are  splendid  examples  of  the 
art  of  embroidery  in  gold  and  silver,  with  panels  of 
green  and  pink  satin  on  the  groundwork  of  black,  with 
embroidered  writing  in  addition  to  the  conventional 
designs.  Burton  says  that  the  curtain  which  covers 
the  outside  of  the  door  into  the  Kaaba  is  called  "  Kaaba's 
face  veil,"  and  that  this  signifies  the  Church  visible  as 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        201 

a  virgin  or  bride,  an  idea  which,  has  found  its  way 
into  the  poetry  of  the  East,  the  Kaaba  being  termed 
"  Mecca's  bride."  The  "  holy  of  holies  "  is  guarded 
by  eunuchs  as  though  it  were  the  abode  of  a  fair  bride. 
I  found,  however,  no  confirmation  of  this. 

Another  highly  decorated  cover  which  I  saw  is  for 
the  door  of  the  great  pulpit  of  the  Kaaba  square — called 
the  Haram — very  similar  in  colouring  and  design.  I 
saw  the  two  valuable  copper  jugs  which  are  sent  each 
year,  filled  with  purest  rose-water,  for  the  washing  of 
the  Kaaba.  I  also  examined  the  embroidered  bag  for 
the  key  of  the  Kaaba,  which  the  Bey  of  the  Carpet 
carries  in  the  Cairo  procession,  when  the  Holy  Curtain 
first  sets  out  on  its  journey.  His,  too,  is  a  hereditary 
office,  and  he  showed  me  with  pride  the  magnificent 
trappings  of  his  horse,  which  are  used  on  ceremonial 
occasions. 

In  a  separate  room  we  are  shown  the  very  beautiful 
covering  for  the  tomb  of  Ibrahim,  to  which  an  old  man 
is  adding  the  last  loving  touches.  This  cover  is  carried 
in  the  Holy  Carpet  procession,  set  upon  a  frame  exactly 
the  size  and  shape  of  the  tomb,  and  is  mistaken  for  a 
second  Mahmal,  not  alone  by  the  Europeans,  but  by 
the  great  majority  of  the  Moslems,  so  secretly  are  these 
provisions  for  the  religious  observances  and  customs  of 
the  Pilgrimage  carried  out,  and  so  little  does  the  Eastern 
mind  ever  burden  itself  with  any  care  of  exact  informa- 
tion. The  groundwork  of  the  embroidery  here  again 
is  black,  the  raised  embroidery  is  in  gold  and  silver,  the 
panelling  being  of  green  and  rose-pink  satin,  with 
Koranic  writings  in  gold.  Round  the  bottom  is  a 
silk  fringe  of  scarlet  and  yellow,  over  a  flounce  of  green 
satin.  The  tassels  at  the  corners  are  of  gold,  as  are 


202        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  medallions  which,  are  put  on  at  the  corner  where 
the  cover  joins.  The  beauty  of  the  embroidery,  both 
in  the  Arabic  writing  and  the  conventional  designs,  is 
seen  in  my  photographs. 

It  is  a  pious  act  to  supply  covers  of  this  sort  for  the 
tarkeebeh  of  saints,  as  well  as  to  repair  the  domed  tombs 
in  which  they  stand ;  a  friend  of  mine,  at  his  own  charge, 
keeps  such  a  tomb  in  good  repair,  and  renews  the  cover, 
of  a  saint  buried  in  his  native  village,  although  the 
sheikh's  claims  to  remembrance  have  been  entirely  lost 
— the  only  instance  I  met  of  such  traditional  knowledge 
having  slipped  from  the  Arab  memory. 

That  the  taking  of  all  these  sacred  objects  connected 
with  the  Carpet  to  Arabia  is  in  itself  a  considerable 
undertaking,  was  brought  home  to  us  by  seeing  the 
tents  and  the  waterskins  and  other  requirements  for 
the  long  journey.  I  am  told  that  the  staff  of  the 
Egyptian  commission  do  an  admirable  work  each  year,  in 
Mecca,  for  the  pilgrims  of  all  nations,  in  the  matter  of 
sanitation,  by  the  improved  methods  and  appliances 
which  they  are  able  to  demonstrate. 

We  now  went  into  the  courtyard,  and  the  two  very 
fine  camels — in  a  way  held  sacred  too — which  are  kept 
here  solely  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  the  Mahmal 
to  Mecca,  were  brought  out  for  us.  They  are  of  great 
size,  and  of  the  cream  colour  which  distinguishes  the 
finer  breed  of  camels.  The  younger  camel  is  kept  in 
reserve,  owing  to  the  great  age  of  the  beast  which  has 
been  to  Mecca  for  a  vast  number  of  years,  and  is  doubt- 
less the  most  famous  animal  in  the  whole  of  the  Islamic 
world.  These  animals  live  a  secluded  but  luxurious 
life  within  these  precincts.  By  the  credulous  populace 
all  sorts  of  miraculous  signs  mark  them  out  in  the  first 


<  o 
X  W 


II 

O    H 

a 

X 

H 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        203 

instance  for  selection  to  their  sacred  task,  and  afterwards 
attend  their  journeyings. 

There  are  seventy  men  employed  in  this  place,  and 
to  mark  the  special  nature  of  their  work  each  has  a  robe 
of  cream  colour  with  a  small  pattern  in  old  gold,  all 
hand  woven,  and  so  strong  that  the  Bey  declared  they 
would  wear  for  fifty  years.  These  robes  are  worn  for 
the  procession  when  the  Mahmal  and  the  curtains  go 
before  the  Khedive,  so  that  the  actual  workers  may  be 
recognised.  Two  or  three  of  the  men  now  put  on  their 
robes,  and  I  was  able  to  photograph  them.  No  man  is 
employed  who  is  not  a  pious  Moslem,  regularly  observing 
all  the  prayers. 

Before  leaving,  the  Bey  told  me  that  the  yearly 
expenses  of  the  work  under  his  charge  amount  to  £4550. 
The  cost  of  the  silver  and  gold  thread  alone  is  £515. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  all  this  time  we  have  seen 
nothing  of  the  Mahmal  itself,  that  palanquin  about  which 
so  many  fables  have  been  woven — the  most  credulous 
and  misleading  by  European  writers.  I  think,  indeed, 
the  Mahmal  might  be  termed  the  puzzle  of  Egypt ; 
even  Lane  professed  that  he  did  not  know  why  it  was 
regarded  with  such  reverence  by  the  Moslem  people. 
We  have  seen  the  sacred  camel  on  whose  back  the 
Mahmal  travels ;  but  where  is  the  palanquin  itself, 
and  what  is  the  true  part  it  fills  in  the  Pilgrimage  ? 
The  sacred  camels  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
taking  the  Carpet,  just  as  the  Mahmal  has  no  con- 
nection with  the  Carpet.  For  one  thing,  the  immense 
weight  of  the  Kaaba  coverings  makes  the  suggestion 
that  one  camel  could  carry  them,  even  without  the 
heavy  Mahmal  itself,  quite  ludicrous. 

At  the  present  moment  the  Mahmal  is,  I  learn,  in 


204        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  care  of  the  Minister  of  Finance,  at  his  official 
residence  in  Cairo.  It  is  impossible  to  see  it  there  ; 
but  as  I  am  so  interested,  an  invitation  is  promised  me 
to  a  celebration  which  takes  place  in  the  building  under 
the  Citadel  on  the  night  before  the  Kaaba  hangings 
and  the  Mahmal  start  for  Mecca.  There  the  Mahmal 
will  be  shown,  and,  more  interesting  still,  there  will 
be  set  up  an  exact  model  of  the  Kaaba,  with  all  the 
curtains  hung  as  they  will  appear  in  the  Holy  City. 

There  is  no  religious  celebration  in  Cairo  more 
impressive  and  beautiful  than  this  festival,  held  on  the 
eve  of  the  setting  out  of  the  Mahmal's  Pilgrimage  to 
Mecca.  There  are  other  great  public  occasions,  when 
the  Oriental  splendour  of  illumination  breaks  out,  to  thrill 
the  thronging  populace,  and  the  out-of-door  excite- 
ments of  the  fair  are  linked  with  the  claims  of  pious 
significance.  But  this  official  fete  in  the  pavilions  at 
the  foot  of  the  Citadel  combines  in  equal  proportions  a 
sense  of  the  sacred  office  with  that  of  subdued  enter- 
tainment, a  feeling  of  religious  awe  being  curiously 
mingled  with  that  of  rejoicing.  Not  that  Oriental 
splendour  is  lacking ;  indeed,  the  scene  that  burst 
upon  our  vision,  when  our  carriage  had  driven  to  the 
door  of  the  Citadel  building,  along  a  long  avenue  of 
special  street  lamps,  placed  only  a  yard  or  two  apart, 
was  dazzling  in  its  beauty.  The  thousands  of  candles 
and  electric  lights,  in  an  endless  vista,  as  one  looked 
through  the  whole  range  of  halls  and  tented  pavilions, 
with  the  sparkling  lustres  of  the  almost  solid  mass  of 
chandeliers,  shone  down  upon  the  picturesqueness  of 
an  Eastern  gathering — enriched  by  the  vivid  colouring 
and  the  gold  embroideries  of  all  the  draperies  I  had 
seen  in  the  making,  which  in  this  light  gained  a  thousand- 


<  o 
0  px; 


u 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        205 

fold  in  beauty.  The  blackness  of  the  Kaaba  cover, 
hung  round  the  first  room,  through  which  shot  now 
and  then  the  graceful  Arabic  so  cunningly  buried  in 
its  sable  depths,  only  served  to  accentuate  the  bright 
beauty  of  the  other  hangings. 

On  entering,  Eastern  politeness  of  course  necessitated 
that  we  should  first  drink  coffee,  with  the  choice,  how- 
ever, of  the  peculiar  hot  drink  called  Kirfa,  drunk  only 
at  religious  ceremonies,  and  at  weddings,  while  large 
trays  of  sweetmeats  were  handed  round. 

By  this  time  the  Bey  has  heard  of  our  arrival,  and 
comes  to  greet  us,  and  escort  us  through  the  rooms. 
He  is  naturally  most  proud  of  the  Kaaba  room,  arranged 
in  the  exact  proportions,  so  that  the  covering  and  the 
door  curtain  hang  just  as  they  will  hang  at  Mecca. 

From  this  we  pass  to  a  gorgeous  pavilion,  one  of 
those  huge  tents,  the  walls  decorated  with  the  brilliantly 
coloured  applique  work  in  Arabesque  design,  with  verses 
from  the  Koran,  so  much  used  in  Egypt  for  all  ceremonial 
occasions.  Here  the  lighting  is  almost  overpoweringly 
brilliant,  from  the  myriads  of  candles  in  their  lustre 
setting. 

The  covering  of  the  Prophet  Ibrahim's  tomb  was  set 
up  here,  and  received  much  attention  ;  but  the  real 
centre  which  drew  every  Moslem  man  and  child  was 
the  Mahmal,  now  to  be  seen  in  public  for  the  first  time 
since  its  return  from  last  year's  pilgrimage.  Round  the 
Mahmal  men  crowded  ;  they  stroked  a  fringe  of  it, 
always  with  the  right  hand,  of  course  (for  the  left  hand 
is  reserved  for  dishonourable  acts),  and  then  to  imbibe 
the  blessing  immediately  stroked  their  faces,  while 
they  muttered  a  prayer.  Little  children  were  held  up 
that  they  might  repeat  the  parent's  act. 


206        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

As  we  stood  near  the  Mahmal  we  could  see  seated 
on  the  floor  at  a  short  distance,  in  a  double  row,  about 
twenty- four  men  of  the  sheikh  class,  facing  each  other, 
with  two  large  candelabra  standing  at  each  end,  between 
the  rows,  chanting  praises  of  the  Prophet,  and  reciting 
Traditions  of  him.  At  a  certain  point  they  came  to 
an  end  of  chanting ;  all  hands  went  up  to  the  breast, 
upraised,  as  a  sign  of  silent  petition.  Then  they  all 
got  up,  gathered  round  the  Mahmal,  sang  another  short 
chant  in  praise  of  Mohammed,  and  again  raised  the 
hands  to  the  breast  in  petition,  all  the  people  imitating 
them. 

Occasionally  there  came  a  man  who  prayed  with 
more  than  usual  intentness,  and  seemed  as  if  he  could 
not  tear  himself  away  from  the  Mahmal ;  clinging  gently 
to  it  as  though  he  longed  to  absorb  something  from  it 
into  his  being  :  the  "  guardian  "  of  the  sacred  palanquin 
would  quietly  urge  him  away,  and  others  less  devout 
would  take  his  place,  content  perhaps  with  a  touch. 

These  manifestations  recalled  to  my  mind  a  passage 
in  one  of  Lady  Duff  Gordon's  letters  :  "  My  servant 
Omar's  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  and  his  voice  shaking 
with  emotion,  as  he  pointed  out  the  Mahmal  to  me — 
in  the  procession.  Moslem  piety  is  so  unlike  what 
Europeans  think  it  is,  so  full  of  tender  emotions,  so 
much  more  sentimental  than  we  imagine — and  it  is 
wonderfully  strong.  I  used  to  hear  Omar  praying 
outside  my  door  while  I  was  so  ill,  '  Oh,  God,  make 
her  better.  Oh,  my  God,  let  her  sleep,'  as  naturally 
as  we  should  say,  '  I  hope  she'll  have  a  good  night.' ' 

The  Mahmal  is,  in  its  material  aspect,  just  a  camel 
palanquin,  or  the  covered  seat  for  fixing  on  the  back 
of  the  animal,  in  which  a  lady  could  ride  without  being 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        207 

seen.  The  present  cover  is  handsomely  embroidered  in 
gold,  on  a  dark  red  ground  ;  it  has  finely  chased  silver 
ornaments  on  the  top,  and  at  each  corner,  and  heavy 
cords  of  gold  festooned  round  each  side.  Having 
now  been  to  Mecca  many  times,  the  gold  work  of  the 
Mahmal  cover  is  becoming  a  little  dull.  Every  twenty 
years  it  is  renewed,  at  a  cost  of  ^1500,  the  ambition  of 
those  responsible  for  renewing  it  being  to  always  improve 
on  the  last  cover.  Though  never  used  as  a  palanquin, 
the  inside  is  still  made  with  seats,  for  a  lady  and  her 
servants.  Possibly  four  people  could  ride  in  it,  but 
they  would  have  close  quarters. 

And  why  is  it  so  intensely  revered  ?  To  begin  its 
history  at  the  end,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  reason  for 
this  deep  reverence  is  that  the  Mahmal  goes  to  Mecca 
every  year  exactly  as  a  pilgrim  goes,  visits  every  spot 
that  the  devout  pilgrim  visits,  and  returns  (alone  of  all 
these  gorgeous  furnishings  sent  out)  to  the  capital  of  the 
country  it  represents.  Lane  heard  a  soldier  exclaim, 
as  the  Mahmal  passed  him,  "  Oh,  my  Lord  !  Thou 
hast  denied  my  performing  the  Pilgrimage  !  "  In  those 
words  lies  the  secret  of  this  reverence. 

I  can  never  forget  a  scene  near  the  Mahmal  at 
Abbassieh,  where  the  Pilgrimage  is  eventually  organised 
for  its  actual  start  to  Mecca.  A  number  of  poor  women, 
whose  accent  told  that  they  had  come  the  long  journey 
from  Upper  Egypt  above  Luxor,  were  sitting  in  a  close 
group  on  the  ground,  as  near  to  the  Mahmal  as  possible, 
singing  very  sweetly  a  song  of  the  Pilgrimage.  The 
Lord  had  denied  them  to  pray  in  Mecca,  But  they  were 
not  left  altogether  desolate,  for  their  eyes  were  rejoiced 
to  see  the  blessed  Mahmal.  For  this  they  had  come 
specially  those  many  miles,  the  only  journey  they  could 


208        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

afford  in  all  their  lives,  and  their  constantly  reiterated 
prayer  was  that  God  would  grant  them  some  of  the 
merits  of  the  Pilgrimage  itself. 

The  Mahmal  dates  from  the  thirteenth  century  (the 
year  645  of  the  Hijrah),  when  the  first  Mahmal  was 
made  by  order  of  the  Queen  Shargaret  El-Dorr,  to 
serve  for  the  Pilgrimage  which  she  intended  to  make. 
The  Queen's  name  signifies  "  a  tree  hung  with  jewels," 
and  the  Mahmal  is  sometimes  called  by  this  name. 
In  the  following  year  she  sent  the  empty  palanquin,  as 
a  symbol  of  Egypt,  and  in  memory  of  her  own  pilgrimage, 
and  from  this  the  annual  custom  grew  up,  to  be  followed 
by  other  countries,  who  take  the  occasion,  as  Egypt 
does,  to  send  with  their  Mahmal  the  national  tributes 
of  money  and  food  to  the  Holy  City,  and  for  the  service 
of  the  Kaaba.  The  Court  historian  told  me  that  he 
thought  the  custom  of  sending  a  State  symbol  was  older 
than  the  Queen's  Mahmal,  a  special  camel,  termed  the 
Mahmal,  being  sent  with  presents  to  Holy  Kaaba  even 
in  pre-Islamic  days.  The  Prophet  himself  sent  such  a 
Mahmal  from  Medina  to  Mecca  with  presents. 

Many  Mahmals  are  mentioned  in  history — from 
Mesopotamia,  from  Yemen,  from  India,  the  Mahmal  of 
Ibn  Rashed,  and  many  others,  some  of  which  continue 
to  be  sent  to  this  day.  In  his  history  of  the  Sudan, 
Naoun  Bey  Shakir  says :  "  The  country  of  Alfour  was 
absolutely  independent,  paying  no  tribute  to  anyone, 
save  to  the  two  sacred  mosques  (in  Mecca  and  Medina)  to 
which  it  used  to  send  an  annual  Mahmal  and  a  purse. 
The  Mahmal  used  to  pass  through  Egypt,  with  a  caravan 
carrying  feathers  and  gum  and  other  products  of  the 
Sudan,  which  were  sold,  the  proceeds  being  put  in 
the  purse.  Then  the  Mahmal  travelled  to  the 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        209 

Holy  Land  (Arabia)  in  company  with  the  Egyptian 
pilgrims." 

At  first  the  Egyptian  Mahmal  actually  contained  the 
presents,  but  after  the  Queen's  visit,  the  sovereign  of 
Egypt  enriched  it  with  decorations  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  was  impossible  for  the  camel  to  do  more  than 
carry  the  Mahmal  itself.  Its  present  weight  is  about  four- 
teen kantars ;  and  the  presents  are  now  entirely  carried 
by  other  camels.  A  kantar  is  nearly  a  hundred  pounds. 

After  it  finally  leaves  Cairo,  the  Mahmal  is  protected 
by  a  special  green  cloth  cover,  which  is  renewed  every 
year,  as  it  is  left  in  Arabia  as  a  cover  to  the  tomb  of 
Seidy  Zounes  El-Seidy.  At  Mecca  the  Mahmal  is 
placed  between  the  "  door  of  the  Prophet  "  and  the 
"  door  of  Peace,"  in  its  green  cover,  which  is  only 
removed  for  ceremonies. 

The  romantic  days  of  brigandage  still  survive  even  the 
railway  which  is  now  nearing  Mecca.  A  distinguished 
pilgrim  tells  me  that  at  present  when  the  Mahmal  leaves 
Mecca  it  is  taken  by  Sultani  Al-Farai — or  the  eastern 
road  ;  or  by  sea  from  Yidda  to  Zembo,  and  from  thence 
to  Medina.  Or  it  may  join  the  railway,  going  from  Al 
Wajh  to  Abdul  Aula  Station,  and  on  to  Medina  by  train. 
This  route  has  been  made  necessary  by  the  formidable 
brigands  who  infest  the  roads  between  Mecca  and 
Zembo,  and  threaten  to  rob  the  Caravan  of  the  Carpet 
unless  they  are  paid  large  sums  of  money. 

The  Mahmal  is  received  at  Medina  with  splendid 
ceremony,  and  is  first  put  in  the  mosque  near  the  pulpit, 
and  then  placed  near  the  tomb  of  Fatma,  the  Prophet's 
daughter,  and  the  wife  of  Ali.  The  Ameer  Hadj,  and 
other  servants,  must  first  put  on  special  robes,  consisting 
of  turban,  a  gown,  and  white  belt  of  cloth,  before  carrying 


210        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  Mahmal  from  the  mosque  to  the  chamber  of  Fatma's 
tomb.  Its  connection  with  the  Queen  would  make  it 
unfitting  to  place  the  Mahmal  near  the  tomb  of  the 
Prophet,  and  his  male  friends,  according  to  Moslem  ideas 
of  propriety.  It  is  not  allowed  that  people  outside  the 
relationship  in  which  intercourse  is  possible  in  life, 
should  pay  visits  after  death — for  the  visits  to  the  tombs 
are  always  referred  to  as  actual  attendance  upon  the 
departed.  "  On  Friday  I  go  to  see  my  child,"  said  a 
father  to  me,  referring  to  a  visit  to  the  house  of  his  family 
in  the  cemetery  at  Cairo  ;  and  my  Egyptian  friends 
could  never  understand  why  I  did  not  regularly  visit  an 
English  friend  whom  they  knew  had  died,  and  was  buried 
at  Helwan.  "  Does  no  one  go  to  see  him  ?  "  they  asked 
quite  pitifully. 

The  Mahmal  leaves  Medina  with  a  magnificent  fare- 
well demonstration,  returning  then  to  Egypt,  where  it  is 
received  with  the  native  rejoicing  of  a  general  holiday, 
and  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns.  As  "  the  return  of  the 
Holy  Carpet " — in  no  way  to  be  compared  with  the 
interest  of  the  procession  on  its  setting  out  three  months 
earlier — the  Mahmal  procession  is  one  of  the  favourite 
sights  to  foreign  visitors  to  Cairo  ;  when,  by  the  Islamic 
calendar,  the  date  allows  it  to  fall  in  the  winter  season. 
This  year  (1912)  the  ceremony  was  on  the  6th  of  January; 
the  next  occasion  will  fall  on  the  27th  of  December  this 
year  ;  and  so  on,  each  year  losing  between  eleven  and 
twelve  days,  through  the  calendar  being  under  lunar 
ruling  instead  of  that  of  the  sun. 

It  thus  takes  thirty-three  years  and  a  half  to  bring  the 
beginning  of  the  Islamic  year  to  the  same  date  as  that  of 
the  Christian  year,  the  Moslems  having  lost  a  year  in 
that  time.  The  actual  month  of  the  Pilgrimage  is  ZuT- 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        211 

heggeh  ;  but  the  Carpet  starts  from  Cairo  in  the  month 
of  Showwal.  The  month  begins  on  the  night  that  the 
new  moon  is  first  actually  seen  ;  a  rule  that  leads  to  much 
confusion  and  doubt  in  the  fixing  of  engagements.  Last 
year  (1911)  in  Egypt  it  was  quite  pitiful  to  see  the  sus- 
pense of  the  poor  people  as  to  when  the  month  of  fasting 
— Rhamadan — would  end.  And  not  the  poor  alone — 
the  Khedive's  official  receptions  at  his  palace  at  Alexan- 
dria were  fixed  to  begin  on  the  morning  of  Saturday, 
3Oth  September,  to  inaugurate  the  feast  which  celebrates 
the  close  of  Rhamadan.  But  as  the  new  moon,  which 
Europeans  take  for  granted,  was  not  actually  seen  until 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  reception  could 
not  be  held  until  the  next  day ;  and  neither  poor  nor. 
rich  might  eat  on  that  anxious  Saturday  till  the  welcome 
gun  sounded  the  joyful  news  that  a  new  moon  was  in 
sight.  It  was  the  astronomers  at  Constantinople  who 
had  seen  it,  and  telegraphed  the  news. 

The  following  details  of  yearly  payments  made  in 
connection  with  the  sending  of  the  Mahmal  and  the  holy 
coverings,  by  the  Minister  of  Finance  of  Egypt,  were 
prepared  for  me  : — 

To  the  Ameer  El-Hadj  of  this  Pilgrimage 

for  salaries  of  himself  and  assistants  £1282 
To  Arab  employees  in  the  service  of  the 

Pilgrimage  ..  ..  „ .  2511 

For  the  salaries  of  the  Sherifs  of  Mecca 

and  Medina       . .  . .  . .      1493 

For  the  Egyptian  almshouses  for  poor 

pilgrims  (takieh)  at  Mecca  . .  1961 

For  the  takieh  at  Medina  . .  . .  1657 

For  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Mecca 

and  Medina      . .  . .  . .     2879 


212        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Forthe  poor  of  Mecca  and  Medina,  from 
various  charities,  as  well  as  from  the 
Egyptian  Government  . .  . .  ^3000 

For  wheat,  given  annually  at  Mecca 
and  Medina,  and  cost  of  distribu- 
tion . .  . .  . .  . .  . .  22,500 

Candles  and  torches,  for  the  two  harams, 

and  sacred  mosques  . .  . .  1629 

For  the  carrying  of  the  sacred  burdens, 

by  camels,  by  land  and  by  sea  . .  4278 

For  tents  and  water-skins          . .          . .      155 

In  addition  to  which  there  are  payments  made  by  the 
public  wakfs  (charities),  and  private  bequests,  as  well  as 
by  the  private  wakfs  of  the  Khedive,  amounting  to  large 
sums,  which  are  applied  to  various  expenses  of  the  Pil- 
grimage of  the  Mahmal,  to  the  necessities  of  the  poor 
pilgrims  from  Egypt,  and  of  others,  at  Mecca,  and  the 
upkeep  of  the  holy  tombs  and  mosques  there ;  the 
total  amount  making  no  less  than  .£50,000,  as  Egypt's 
contribution  to  the  Pilgrimage,  and  to  the  benefit  of  the 
holy  cities. 

Enormous  as  this  sum  seems,  a  comparison  with  the 
records  of  the  times  of  the  Fatimides  will  show  that 
double  that  sum  was  spent  in  this  way.  In  those  days 
the  cost  of  the  Caravan  and  its  gifts  was  .£120,000,  of 
which  sum  ^£10,000  was  spent  on  perfumeries,  sweets, 
and  candles ;  .£40,000  went  to  the  expenses  of  the 
delegates  of  Egypt ;  the  remaining  .£60,000,  in  the  words 
of  Makrezi,  who  wrote  a  history  of  the  Pilgrimage 
Caravan  — "  constitute  the  expenses  of  protection, 
charities,  camels,  wages,  troops,  the  Captain  of  the 
Caravan,  other  employees,  the  digging  of  wells,  etc.  In 
the  days  of  the  Vizier  Bazouri,  however,  the  expenses 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        213 

were  greatly  increased,  and  amounted  to  £200,000,  the 
highest  sum  in  all  the  history  of  the  Mahmal." 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Mamelukes,  the  Mahmal  con- 
stituted a  very  important  feature  in  the  Egyptian  state. 
The  Ameer  El-Hahj  occupied  the  office  third  in  rank 
in  the  state,  and  became,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  Governor 
of  Cairo.  It  was  a  permanent  post,  and  carried  great 
influence  in  the  Hejaz,  so  that  he  often  discharged  and 
appointed  the  Ameers  of  Mecca.  The  old  rulers  so  ex- 
aggerated the  importance  and  sacredness  of  the  Mahmal, 
that  they  ordered  every  high  functionary,  through 
whose  locality  it  passed,  to  kiss  the  foot  of  the  camel 
bearing  it ;  until  Sultan  Gakmak  prohibited  what  had 
become  a  custom  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  celebrations  connected  with  the  Mahmal  gave 
the  Khedive  Ismail  another  opportunity  for  the  wild 
extravagance  which  brought  such  ruin  upon  his  country. 
One  item  in  his  lavish  expenditure  was  to  have  huge 
vessels  set  up  in  Cairo  in  which  sugar  was  melted,  so  that 
the  people  might  drink  freely  of  the  syrup  for  three  days — 
this  being  a  revival  of  an  old  custom  at  times  of  rejoicing. 
In  those  days  there  was  a  separate  post  for  "  the  keeper 
of  sweets,"  but  an  employee  is  now  charged  in  his  place 
with  the  distribution  of  charity  amongst  certain  poor 
of  Arabia. 


CHAPTER    II 

"  Beats  there  a  heart  within  that  breast  of  thine, 
Then  compass  reverently  the  sacred  shrine  : 
For  the  essential  Kaaba  is  the  heart, 
And  no  proud  pile  of  perishable  art." 

Jalaluddin  Rumi,  Lines  on  the  Pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

IT  has  been  seen  that  the  Mahmal  does  in  some  degree 
eclipse  the  Holy  Carpet.  During  the  night  following 
the  celebration  at  the  Citadel  all  the  hangings  are 
taken  down.  The  next  morning  there  is  a  great  pro- 
cession, when  the  Holy  Carpet  is  taken  from  the  Citadel 
to  the  mosque  of  Hosein.  Last  year  (1911)  the  pro- 
cession was  on  7th  October.  On  this  occasion,  too,  it 
is  the  Mahmal,  or  its  special  banners,  which  the  people 
chiefly  attempt  to  caress,  although  they  lose  no  oppor- 
tunity of  rubbing  their  right  hands  over  the  Holy 
Carpet,  and  of  lifting  their  children  to  do  so. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  procession,  the  different 
lengths  of  the  Kaaba  covering  are  stretched  over 
wooden  frames,  which,  being  carried  by  a  number  of 
men,  look  rather  like  a  succession  of  giants'  biers,  covered 
with  black  palls.  The  separate  lengths  of  the  Kaaba 
band  are  also  placed  lengthways  on  frames ;  and 
these  frames,  gleaming  with  gold,  and  the  gorgeously 
coloured  and  embroidered  cover  for  Ibrahim's  tomb, 
set  on  the  back  of  a  beautiful  camel,  like  a  palanquin, 
and  then  the  rich  old  gold  of  the  Mahmal  itself,  redeem 
the  procession  from  a  sombreness  ill  according  with  an 
occasion  of  rejoicing. 


214 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        215 

For  nothing  could  give  more  pleasure  to  the  Cairo 
crowd  than  this  procession  of  the  setting  out  on  the 
Pilgrimage  does ;  to  them,  if  it  has  a  sobering  note  at 
all,  it  is  that  it  means  farewell  to  some  relative  start- 
ing on  a  journey,  which  still  has  many  perils.  But  the 
Egyptian  is  a  child  of  to-day,  whose  sustenance  is  hope. 
Like  a  child,  he  has  no  yesterdays  and  no  to-morrows. 
At  all  times  his  faith  tells  him  "  God's  in  His  heaven, 
all's  right  with  the  world."  And  the  Pilgrimage  is, 
after  all,  one  of  the  sure  paths  to  Paradise. 

And,  for  the  happy  moment,  here  are  waving  banners, 
in  the  warm  sunshine,  and  holy  sheikhs  of  all  the  different 
guilds  of  the  mosques,  and  the  bands — one  of  them  of 
Scottish  bagpipes — playing  with  blissful  iteration  the 
one  tune  that  contains  every  note  of  music,  always  in  a 
minor  key,  that  has  any  value  to  the  native  folk. 

The  whole  of  the  Cairo  garrison  of  Egyptian  troops, 
including  all  the  artillery,  footmen,  and  cavalry,  with  a 
special  honorary  guard  of  the  Mahmal,  take  part  in 
the  ceremonies  connected  with  it.  The  Ameer  Al- 
Mahmal,  who  is  appointed  annually  by  the  Khedive, 
takes  the  lead,  and  is  followed  by  the  military  pashas. 

After  the  camel,  on  which  the  Mahmal  has  now  been 
fixed,  has  carried  it  in  its  annual  rotations  of  the 
square  of  the  Citadel,  it  is  led  up  to  the  stand  where 
the  Khedive — or  in  his  absence  the  Prime  Minister — 
accompanied  by  the  high  functionaries  of  the  State, 
the  ministers,  the  great  ulemas,  and  the  notable  men 
of  Egypt,  await  it. 

The  Mamour  of  the  Holy  Carpet  then  comes  for- 
ward, with  the  rein  of  the  camel  in  his  hand,  which  he 
gives  to  the  Khedive,  who  reverently  kisses  it,  and  hands 
it  to  the  Ameer  Al-Hadj,  who  afterwards  leads  the 


216        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

camel.  The  guns  of  the  Citadel  are  fired,  and  the 
procession  starts  for  the  plain — called  the  Mahjar — at 
Abbassieh  (the  Kaaba  covering  being  left  en  route  at  the 
mosque  of  Hosein  for  the  sewing  which  I  have  described), 
passing  through  the  Al  Darb  Al  Ahmar,  the  Gate 
Zoueilah,  Ghuria,  Nahhasin,  and  Bab-el-Nasr. 

At  Abbassieh  there  is  a  considerable  encampment  of 
tents  for  the  servants  and  troops  who  are  to  go  with 
the  Mahmal  to  Mecca ;  and  here  the  Mahmal  halts 
for  two  or  three  days,  and  is  visited  by  many  people. 
All  the  provisions  and  ammunition  are  gathered  here 
for  the  start.  A  special  train  is  drawn  up  on  the 
railway,  and  the  Mahmal  with  its  large  deputation  starts 
for  Suez ;  from  thence  it  goes  to  Yidda,  and  then  by 
the  land  route  to  Mecca. 

In  November,  1910,  the  Mahmal  left  Egypt  by  way 
of  Alexandria,  attended  by  the  Khedive  ;  from  thence 
it  went  by  boat  to  Jaffa,  and  from  Jaffa  to  Medina  by 
train,  by  way  of  the  remarkable  new  Hejaz  railway  ; 
the  use  of  which  railway,  as  it  draws  near  to  the 
Holy  City  of  Medina,  is  exclusively  reserved  for 
Moslems,  being  closely  guarded  and  scrutinised  by 
soldiers. 

In  the  old  days,  before  reformers  like  the  Sheikh 
Mohammed  Abdu  arose,  to  denounce  the  excesses  and 
extravagances  of  Moslem  celebrations,  the  buffoon  and 
the  dervish  magician  had  a  part  in  this  procession,  and 
the  religious  devotee,  and  the  mystic,  made  strange  and 
weird  demonstrations ;  but  that  has  gone.  The  old 
man,  bare  to  the  waist,  who,  with  twistings  and  contor- 
tions, rode  a  camel,  going  to  Mecca  on  this  Pilgrimage 
for  years  innumerable — and  never  speaking  a  single 
word  to  any  man  on  the  journey — until  he  became  to 


THE  MAHMAL  IN  THE  CAMP  AT  ABBASIEH,  NEAR  CAIRO, 


AND   THE   CAM!'   OF   THE    MAHMAL 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        217 

the  simple  crowds  what  seemed  a  permanent  institution, 
he  too  has  disappeared. 

But  still,  neither  the  buffoon  nor  the  magician  is 
altogether  extinct,  for  amateurs  in  these  professions  give 
us  entertainment  in  the  street  while  we  are  waiting  for 
the  procession,  and  again  after  it  has  passed :  both  of 
them  very  crude  performers,  too  well  paid  even  by  the 
millieme  (the  fifth  part  of  a  penny)  of  the  poor  fellah 
from  the  country.  The  only  skill  the  conjurer  showed 
was  in  drawing  from  the  pockets  of  myself  and  my 
friends — I  had  a  seat  in  a  palace  gateway  in  one  of  the 
narrow  streets — more  money  than  he  was  likely  to  earn 
by  his  other  tricks  of  magic  in  a  week. 

When  the  Holy  Carpet  arrives  at  Mecca  it  is  handed 
to  Sheikh  Sheiby,  in  the  presence  of  the  chief  ulemas 
and  notables,  and  kept  by  him  till  the  day  of  sacrifice, 
when  it  is  hung  upon  the  Kaaba.  None  of  these  holy 
drapings,  we  have  seen,  come  back  to  Egypt,  but  when 
they  have  fulfilled  their  purpose  they  become  the 
property  of  the  Sherif  of  Mecca,  being  sold  to  pilgrims 
in  special  shops  near  the  Kaaba.  Rich  people  buy  the 
beautiful  door  covers,  and  portions  of  the  Kaaba  band, 
and  have  them  framed  to  hang  in  the  tomb  houses ;  in 
most  of  the  apartments  of  the  royal  tombs  in  Cairo, 
such  souvenirs  of  Mecca  are  to  be  seen.  The  poor  are 
contented  with  a  shred  of  the  black  covering ;  and,  if 
they  can  afford  it,  they  buy  also  Mecca  water  in 
sealed  blue  bottles  from  the  Holy  Well  of  Zemzem,  in 
the  Kaaba,  for  their  last  earthly  washing — or  to  present 
to  a  poor  friend  on  their  return — and  a  piece  of  linen 
made  in  Mecca,  and  washed,  too,  in  the  holy  water,  for 
the  garment  in  which  (as  they  will  specify  in  their 
wills)  they  are  to  be  buried.  They  also  drink,  with 


2i 8        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

great  emotion,  a  small  draught  of  it ;  it  is  of  brackish 
taste. 

This  well  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  Kaaba,  in  the 
mosque  enclosure  called  the  haram,  and  is  covered 
with  a  small  building  and  cupola.  Moslems  are  per- 
suaded that  it  is  the  very  spring  that  gushed  out 
for  the  relief  of  Ishmael  when  Hagar  wandered  with 
him  in  the  desert  (Gen.  xxi.  19).  The  historian  to  the 
Egyptian  court  assured  me  that  it  is  only  people  like 
the  Sudanese,  and  some  Indians,  who  dip  their  shrouds 
in  its  waters  ;  but  I  knew  an  educated  man  in  Algeria 
who  had  done  this. 

The  making  of  a  cover  for  the  Kaaba  goes  back  to 
the  time  of  Ignorance — before  Mohammed — the  first 
cover  being  made  of  skin,  and  afterwards  of  cloth  ;  and 
all  the  tribes  of  Arabia  at  first  took  a  share  in  paying 
for  it.  At  the  time  of  the  Prophet  it  had  become  the 
duty  of  the  Quraish,  or  chief  tribe,  who  had  care  of 
the  Kaaba,  to  cover  it,  and  they  used  Yemen  cloth.  It 
was  in  the  time  of  the  Abbaside  Chaliphate  that  the 
sovereigns  of  Yemen  and  Egypt  began  to  share  the  duty 
of  providing  the  covering.  Under  the  Ottoman  rule, 
Egypt  alone  began  to  work  the  cover  every  year. 

It  is  not  in  my  plan  to  give  any  history  of  the  Kaaba 
itself,  but  as  I  had  the  advantage  of  drawing  on  the 
lifelong  studies  of  the  Khedive's  historian  of  the 
Pilgrimage,  it  will,  I  think,  be  interesting  to  record,  not 
so  much  the  history  as  the  views  of  a  modern  Moslem 
of  culture,  on  this  sacred  shrine,  towards  which  over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  living  souls  turn 
every  day  in  prayer. 

The  Pilgrimage  was  an  immemorial  custom  of  the 
Arab  race ;  and  the  Kaaba  was  the  one  thing  a  scattered 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        219 

people,  broken  up  into  tribal  warfare,  had  in  common, 
as  a  shrine  at  which  alone  they  could  feel  even  the 
slightest  impulse  towards  a  national  feeling. 

For  twenty-five  centuries  before  Islam,  they  had 
gone  to  the  Kaaba  because  they  believed  it  was  the 
House  of  Allah.  The  tribes  were  of  different  creeds, 
but  no  special  creed  claimed  the  Kaaba,  and  they  were 
united  there  in  a  belief  that  it  belonged  to  the  ruler  of 
the  whole  universe.  Here  they  kept  the  many  idols 
they  worshipped.  Mohammed  Labib  Bey  told  me  that 
there  is  a  big  stone  at  the  outer  door  of  the  Mecca 
haram,  used  as  a  step.  The  people  of  Mecca  believe 
that  it  was  one  of  the  idols  which  Mohammed  turned 
out  of  the  Kaaba  ;  they  call  it  Assaf- 

There  was  no  trace  that  the  Black  Stone  which  is 
built  into  the  side  of  the  Kaaba  was  ever  worshipped 
(it  will  be  remembered  that  the  Moslem  historian 
is  speaking)  although  revered  so  deeply.  It  has  always 
been  believed  that  it  descended  from  heaven  ;  many 
people  wh<3  have  seen  it  think  it  is  of  meteoric  origin. 

The  Moslems  are  not  alone  in  venerating  historic 
stones,  as  Labib  Bey  points  out.  Jacob  set  up  a  stone 
as  a  memorial.  To  pass  over  many  other  instances,  the 
King  of  England  is  always  crowned  over  the  stone,  kept 
in  Westminster  Abbey,  about  which  many  fables  are 
told  to  carry  its  origin  back  to  very  early  times. 

The  Black  Stone  which  Abraham  erected  in  the  Kaaba 
at  Mecca  was  either  put  there  in  obedience  to  God's 
command,  as  a  sign  of  the  reverence  to  be  paid  to  His 
house,  or  as  a  sign  of  Abraham's  own  and  his  son's 
pledge  to  make  that  place  sacred  to  all  men.  It  is 
probable  that  a  black  stone  was  chosen  so  that  it  might 
be  easily  distinguished.  The  stone  was  respected  by 


220        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Abraham  and  his  son,  and  by  their  descendants,  the 
Arabs,  and  then  by  all  Moslems  up  to  the  present 
moment. 

I  give  here  the  Bey's  exact  words  on  this  important 
point,  as  the  Black  Stone  is  much  reverted  to  by  critical 
writers  on  Islam.  "  The  very  earthly  centre  of  the 
religion  itself  is  a  sacred  Black  Stone,"  says  the  Rev. 
W.  H.  T.  Gairdner  in  The  Reproach  of  Islam.  In  a 
more  recent  book,  written  by  a  man  who  is  physically 
a  great  traveller,  but  seems  to  have  little  faculty  to  know 
the  strange  people  amongst  whom  he  finds  himself,  Dr. 
Karl  Kumm  goes  so  far  as  to  declare  that  "  the  super- 
lative of  heathenism  is  Islam,  in  which  the  devotee  five 
times  a  day  bows  to  the  dust  in  the  direction  of  his 
temple,  the  Kaaba,  and  the  holiest  of  it,  the  Black  Stone 
which  fell  from  heaven." 

The  European  writers,who,  pretending  to  be  Moslems, 
have  gone  to  Mecca,  have  greatly  misled  the  world  by 
declaring  that  Moslems  worship  the  Black  Stone,  thus 
preserving  some  part  of  the  idolatry  of  the  pre-Islamic 
times.  My  reply  to  these  is,  that  on  the  occasion  when 
the  Prophet  adopted  the  Pilgrimage  as  one  of  the 
pillars  of  his  new  religion — so  wisely  recognising  its 
value  in  the  work  of  drawing  the  Arab  people  together 
in  national  aspirations — he  stood  near  the  Black  Stone 
and  said,  "  I  know  thou  art  a  stone,  that  can  do  neither 
good  nor  evil,"  and  then  kissed  it.  When  Abu  Bakr  made 
his  first  pilgrimage,  as  Mohammed's  successor,  he,  too, 
stood  by  the  BJack  Stone  and  said,  "  I  know  thou  art 
a  stone,  that  can  do  neither  good  nor  evil ;  had  I 
not  seen  the  Prophet — may  God  give  him  peace — kiss 
thee,  I  would  not  have  kissed  thee."  The  stone  is  a 
symbol  to  the  Moslem  people,  just  as  a  national  flag 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        221 

is  a  symbol ;  it  is  reverenced  in  much  the  same 
way. 

The  importance  of  the  Pilgrimage  as  a  great  bond 
of  spiritual  inspiration  has  scarcely  been  realised  by  most 
writers.  There  are  from  60,000  to  90,000  pilgrims 
to  Mecca  every  year.  Its  influence  over  the  lives 
of  those  who  perform  it  is  often  so  great  that  it 
gives  a  new  direction  to  character  ;  in  every  genera- 
tion men  and  women  have  been  roused  from  spiritual 
lethargy  to  become  missionaries  and  leaders  of  Islam 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  by  the  experiences  they  have 
undergone  in  their  Holy  Land. 

This  is  a  fact  very  difficult  for  the  Western  mind 
to  understand ;  I  think  because,  in  the  Western,  or 
Aryan  mind,  such  spiritual  impulses  are  generally 
started  by  means  of  Preaching  ;  but  because,  in  the 
Mission  of  the  Meccan  Pilgrimage,  preaching  has  little 
part,  we  Europeans  fail,  perhaps,  to  realise  the  secret 
of  the  hold  it  gains  over  the  minds  of  men.  It  is  the 
power  of  Prayer,  however,  that  moves  the  Semitic 
mind.  When  the  Moslem  who  is  devout  enough 
to  make  the  Pilgrimage  first  finds  himself  one  of  the 
great  body  of  worshippers  in  the  sacred  court  of  the 
Kaaba,  where  he  believes  himself  to  be  specially  near 
to  his  God,  Who  is  well  pleased  with  his  situation  ; 
and  later  on  praying  in  the  "  Prophet's  Mosque " 
at  Medina,  or  standing  by  that  holy  spot  where 
Mohammed  and  his  friends  are  buried,  he  seems  to 
enter  into  an  intense  realisation  of  all  that  his  religion 
means  to  him.  It  is  not  surprising  that  then,  in  a  glow 
of  zeal,  he  wants  all  men  to  know  of  the  secret  which 
has  led  him  to  a  higher  plane  of  experience,  where 
earthly  things  fall  into  their  proper  relationship,  and 


222         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

clear  vistas  open  for  him  towards  a  Paradise  which  is 
rich  with  rewards  for  those  who  keep  the  doctrine  and 
do  the  will  of  God. 

When  we  find,  in  every  page  of  the  history  of  Islam, 
how  the  men  who  have  visited  Mecca  return  to  their 
own  countries  to  stimulate,  as  reformers  and  missionaries, 
the  religion  of  their  neighbours,  and  in  some  cases  to 
gain  great  success  in  converting  whole  neighbouring 
tribes  from  idolatry  and  barbarism,  we  may  well  pause 
to  ask  what  would  happen  if  Mecca,  under  some  possible 
revival,  became  a  really  great  and  potent  centre  of  a 
reformed  Islam,  sending  men  away  to  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  with  even  greater  enthusiasm,  to  "  strive  in 
the  path  of  God." 

Western  critics  have  often  missed  the  true  significance 
of  the  Pilgrimage  in  their  unsympathetic  attitude  towards 
its  outward  observances,  failing  to  realise  that  there  must 
be  a  deep  spiritual  meaning  in  these  things  to  account 
for  their  permanent  hold  over  the  mind  and  heart 
of  so  many  millions  during  such  a  long  period  of 
time. 

As  a  thoughtful  Moslem  put  it  to  me  :  "  It  is  strange 
that  Western  writers  seldom  allow  that  our  Pilgrimage 
can  be  anything  but  an  outward  form,  gone  through  as 
one  of  the  c  pillars  '  of  our  religion,  with  the  object 
merely  of  gaining  merit  hereafter.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  very  setting  out  for  Mecca  is  a  sign  of  strong  faith 
in  God  and  His  promises.  Thousands  of  the  pilgrims 
set  out  with  very  little  provision  for  the  journey,  and 
the  sufferings  they  endure  are  incredible.  The  minds 
of  most  of  the  pilgrims  are  thrilled  with  intense  spiritual 
fervour  by  their  experiences ;  they  feel  that  they  have 
come  into  more  intimate  relation  with  their  God,  and 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        223 

also  with  their  fellow-men.  They  meet  and  have 
intercourse  with  the  best  men  of  their  religion  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  exchanging  views,  and  receiving 
new  impressions  of  personal  character. 

The  principle  of  the  equality  of  all  men  is  here 
instilled  very  deeply  into  the  mind,  by  the  fact  that 
every  pilgrim  dons  exactly  the  same  garment — and  that 
of  the  plainest  sort — and  all  personal  habits  and  adorn- 
ments are  set  aside  by  which  men  are  differentiated  in 
the  social  scale.  Even  the  distinguishing  turban  is  put 
off  for  the  time,  and  the  head  remains  bare,  so  that 
every  mark  of  race  and  tribe  is  forgotten.  By  the  same 
token,  men  are  cured  of  pride  and  self-assertiveness ; 
they  realise  as  never  before  that  "  the  faithful  are 
brothers  "  (Sura,  xlix.  10),  and  that  before  God  there 
is  no  respect  of  persons. 


CHAPTER    III 

"  I  bid  you  fear  God  openly  and  in  secret,  guard  against  excess  in 
eating,  drinking  and  speech  ;  keep  aloof  from  evil  companionship  ;  be 
diligent  in  fasts  and  self-renunciation  and  bear  wrongs  patiently.  The 
best  man  is  he  who  helps  his  fellow-men,  and  the  best  speech  is  a  brief  one, 
which  leads  to  knowledge.  Praise  be  to  God  alone." 

The  teaching  of  Jalaluddin,  a  Moslem  saint,  whose  tomb 
at  Iconium  is  a  centre  of  pilgrimage. 

IN  no  religion  is  the  memory  of  trie  lives  of  saints  more 
cherished  than  in  Islam.  The  passionate  devotion  to  the 
memory  of  the  Prophet — "  on  whom  be  blessings  and 
peace  " — is  intimate  and  personal  to  every  one  of  his 
followers.  One  has  only  to  see  the  rapt  attention  that 
is  paid  to  a  recitation  of  his  sayings,  or  the  stories  of  his 
life,  and  the  heartfelt  chorus  of  approval  with  which 
every  sentence  is  punctuated,  to  realise  this. 

It  is  the  same  in  lesser  degree  with  the  minor  saints. 
The  memory  of  the  most  humble  life  is  treasured  ;  the 
memorial  dome  is  set  up,  and  the  people  visit  the  place 
of  burial  to  commune  with  the  departed,  to  be  reminded 
of  his  goodness  or  his  wisdom,  to  pray  to  God  to  place  to 
the  saint's  account  certain  merits  of  theirs,  hoping  that 
they  may  gain  favour  from  the  man  who  is  nearer  than 
they  are  to  the  Throne  of  Grace. 

One  of  the  early  philosophers  of  Islam  (Avicenna) 
being  questioned  on  the  subject  of  visiting  the  tombs  of 
the  dead,  and  praying  for  the  departed,  put  the  matter 
in  this  way.  All  creation,  whose  parts  are  linked  to- 
gether, is  subject  to  influences  which  all  derive  from  a 
single  source — God.  Terrestrial  souls  differ  widely  in 


224 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        225 

rank ;  the  highest  are  endowed  with  gifts  of  prophecy, 
and  perfected  so  far  that  they  attain  the  sphere  of  pure 
intelligence.  A  soul  of  this  kind  entering  after  death 
into  eternal  beatitude,  shared  with  its  peers,  continues 
along  with  them  to  exercise  a  certain  influence  on 
terrestrial  souls. 

The  object  of  prayer  for  the  dead,  and  visiting  their 
tombs,  is  to  beg  for  the  help  of  those  pure  souls,  a  help 
which  is  realised  sometimes  in  a  material,  sometimes  in 
a  spiritual  way.  The  material  help  may  be  compared 
with  the  direction  which  the  body  receives  from  the 
brain  ;  spiritual  assistance  is  realised  by  the  purification 
of  the  mind  from  every  thought  but  that  of  God. 

These  tombs  vary  in  size  and  beauty,  from  the 
gorgeous  mosque  tombs  in  Cairo,  such  as  that  of  the 
Imam  Shaffey,  to  the  poor  little  ragged  enclosure  in  the 
desert,  only  marked  by  a  few  white  flags  on  frail  poles, 
and  guarded  by  a  recluse,  who  in  some  cases  lives  his  frugal 
life  literally  in  a  philosopher's  tub.  These  guardians  of 
tombs  are  very  often  themselves  mystics  and  saints, 
reflecting  on  the  merits  of  the  men  whose  resting-places 
they  care  for,  whose  descendants  they  sometimes  are  ;  and 
leading  lives  devoted  to  prayer  and  religious  reading  and 
contemplation,  they  tend  to  become  like  them. 

Next  to  the  house  in  which  I  stayed  in  Cairo  was  the 
tomb,  standing  in  a  little  garden,  of  the  Sheikh  Maghraby 
— lovingly  guarded  by  an  old  man  who  was  much 
esteemed  by  a  few  people  to  whom  his  quiet  and  frugal 
life  was  known,  full  of  gentle  wisdom,  coming  from 
religious  study  and  a  chastened  experience  of  the  poor 
value  of  any  earthly  life  which  is  not  centred  upon  the 
life  to  come. 

Few  of  the  many  European  passers-by  guessed  what 
15 


226        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

was  the  nature  of  the  little  domed  building  or  of  the 
existence  of  such  a  man.  They  wondered,  perhaps,  to  see 
the  native  Egyptian,  or  the  Berberine,  turn  as  he  passed 
the  tomb  to  mutter  a  prayer  or  recite  a  verse  of  the 
Koran,  with  eyes  intent  upon  the  covered  sarcophagus — 
called  the  tarkeebeh  or  taboot — to  be  seen  through  the 
railings  and  the  half-opened  door ;  while  some  were 
attracted  by  the  brightness  of  the  flowers  in  the  little  city 
garden.  But  beyond  that  the  tomb  occasioned  no  thought. 

All  the  time,  however,  the  old  man  tends  the  spot 
that  is  dearer  to  him  than  life ;  he  talks  with  the  saint 
whose  memory  he  lives  only  to  keep  green  ;  he  preserves 
the  tomb  in  spotless  cleanliness,  quietly  asking  of  his 
neighbour  the  little  oil  necessary  to  keep  the  lamp 
burning,  giving  a  rich  return  to  his  Christian  benefactor 
from  the  flowers  of  the  sacred  garden. 

Once  a  year,  however,  a  great  commotion  of  Oriental 
rejoicing  breaks  in  upon  this  quiet  life.  It  is  the  moolid, 
or  birthday,  of  the  saint,  when  all  his  admirers  gather 
to  celebrate,  with  crude  music,  feasting,  and  religious 
exercises,  chief  of  which  are  the  recalling  of  the  good 
deeds  and  sayings  of  the  departed  sheikh. 

It  is  only  in  the  Eastern  mind  that  the  capacity 
exists  to  passionately  identify  itself  with  the  lives  of  its 
departed  heroes,  so  as  not  only  to  venerate  their  good 
deeds,  and  to  repeat  their  wise  words,  but  to  suffer  over 
again  their  sorrows,  and  to  realise  their  joys. 

Imagine,  for  instance,  a  city  like  Cairo,  in  which  only 
a  very  few  years  since,  for  a  whole  day  each  year,  certain 
of  the  native  inhabitants  refused  to  quench  their  thirst, 
and  where,  if  a  water-carrier  had  dared  to  appear  in  their 
streets,  he  would  have  been  killed  ;  and  this  because,  as 
long  ago  as  the  seventh  century,  a  popular  hero  had  been 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        227 

massacred  on  that  day,  by  enemies  who  had  denied  him 
drink  ! 

And  to  this  day,  if  you  would  see  native  Cairo  revert 
to  a  fearful  phase  of  Oriental  medievalism,  you  must  see 
the  bloody  celebration  of  this  same  hero's  martyrdom, 
which  takes  place  at  night  in  the  main  streets  leading 
from  the  famous  quarter  of  the  bazaars — where  a  few 
hours  before  the  unsuspicious  tourist  has  quietly  pursued 
the  bargaining  quest  of  Eastern  treasures. 

It  was  on  the  last  day  of  December  that  I  went, 
entirely  against  the  wishes  and  advice,  I  admit,  of  my 
more  cultured  Moslem  friends,  to  witness  the  procession 
on  the  day  of  Ashoora,  in  memory  of  the  death  of 
Hosein  and  Hassan.  The  subterfuges  and  deceits 
practised  upon  Europeans  to  trick  them  out  of  seeing 
this  procession  are  so  persistent  and  ingenious,  that  it 
becomes  a  matter  of  self-respect  to  outwit  them.  But 
in  many  ways  the  subterfuges  succeed.  This  year  not 
one  of  the  European  newspapers  gave  the  right  date  of 
Ashoora  ;  last  year  friends  of  mine  went  to  the  Mousky 
a  day  too  late  ;  this  year  I  was  on  the  point  of  setting  out 
a  day  too  soon.  It  became  obvious,  later  on,  that  the 
reporters  never  arrived  at  all,  for  their  much-belated 
accounts  bore  evidence  of  mere  gossip. 

"  The  tenth  day  of  Moharram"  seems  explicit  enough ; 
but  remember  that  there  is  the  moon  to  reckon  with,  as 
to  which  is  the  first  day ;  then  your  informant  must 
know  what  day  of  the  Western  month  coincides;  and  then 
there  is  the  puzzling  Eastern  custom  of  reckoning  each 
evening  as  belonging  to  the  day  following  it,  and  not  as 
we  do,  to  the  close  of  the  day ;  for  instance,  the  pro- 
cession this  year  was  on  our  Sunday  evening,  3ist  De- 
cember. To  the  Egyptians  this  was  Monday  evening. 


228        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Add  to  all  this  an  intention  to  confuse,  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  European  often  finds  that  he  has  been 
successfully  misled. 

Through  the  teeming  and  brilliantly  lighted  streets, 
which  gave  evidence  that  I  had  tracked  the  right  evening, 
I  made  my  way,  with  a  native  escort,  to  an  Arab  inn 
near  the  Mosque  of  Hosein,  where  I  had  previously  sent 
to  engage  a  room  overlooking  the  street.  As  this  inn  is 
well  known  to  the  ladies  of  rich  Moslem  families,  as 
having  a  side  entrance  away  from  the  crowded  streets, 
the  proprietor  was  very  averse  to  letting  one  of  his  rooms 
to  any  person  whatever  of  the  male  sex.  If  I  had  been 
any  but  an  Englishman — the  confidence  of  Eastern 
ladies  that  Englishmen  will  treat  them  with  courteous 
reserve  is,  as  I  know,  universal — he  would  have  declined 
altogether,  as  his  patronesses  would  have  deserted  him. 
On  the  express  condition  that,  if  I  brought  Egyptian 
friends,  I  would  see  that  they  would  go  straight  to  my 
room  and  refrain  from  afterwards  moving  about  in  the 
passages  where  they  might  meet  the  native  ladies,  he 
consented  to  reserve  for  me  a  room.  This  celebration 
has  always  been  regarded  by  Egyptian  women  as  particu- 
larly their  own. 

Allowing  for  Eastern  vagueness  in  all  matters  of 
fixing  times,  as  well  as  seasons,  and  knowing  that  I  should 
enjoy  the  sight  of  the  gathering  crowds,  and  also  to  make 
sure  the  procession  did  not  after  all  escape  me,  I  started 
out  at  six  o'clock,  although,  as  I  surmised,  the  celebra- 
tion would  not  begin  till  about  nine. 

It  was  worth  while  to  be  in  time,  however,  for 
there  is  nothing  so  interesting  and  picturesque  in  the 
world  as  a  purely  Eastern  crowd  en  fete,  especially 
at  night,  under  the  glowing  lights  they  love,  when 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS       229 

every  man  and  boy  of  them  is  detached  from  all  con- 
siderations but  those  of  good-rhumoured  enjoyment 
for  himself  and  his  friends. 

To-night  everyone  is  eating  a  special  Ashoora  cake, 
and  there  is  much  almsgiving  in  the  names  of  Hassan 
and  Hosein.  The  cafes  are  crowded  with  men  who 
have  specially  engaged  chairs,  and  who  also  order  coffee 
to  cheer  the  waiting  hours,  as  the  rule  of  abstinence 
on  this  day  is  no  longer  observed  except  by  Persians. 

It  is  not  easy  to  remember  in  these  gay  streets  that 
this  is  known  as  a  day  of  mourning  and  of  agony  for  a 
hero's  sufferings  and  death.  A  day  which  in  Persia 
still  is  given  up  to  the  keenest  realisation  of  that  heart- 
breaking tragedy  which  has  always  had  power  to  move 
the  Eastern  spirit.  Of  the  Persian  Miracle  play,  a 
writer  who  saw  it  said  :  "  Only  in  the  Passion  play  which 
Ober-Ammergau  has  made  famous  can  a  parallel  be 
found  to  this  Oriental  witchery ;  and  even  then  with 
far  greater  skill  and  preparation,  and  a  more  artistic 
setting,  the  audience  seems  cold  and  indifferent  to  the 
Saviour's  griefs  by  contrast  with  the  tear-stained  faces 
of  these  broken-hearted  Easterns,  who  bewail  with 
dust-defiled  head  and  heaving  breast,  smitten  with 
passionate  hands,  the  martyrdom  of  their  hero." 

It  is  obvious  that  the  Egyptian  Moslems  do  not 
take  the  matter  of  the  martyrdom  very  greatly  to  heart. 
It  is  the  Persians  in  Cairo  who  arrange  the  procession 
which  this  great  crowd  has  come  out  to  see  ;  it  is  the 
Persians  here  who  have  credit  for  spending  the  day  as 
a  solemn  fast,  for  to  them  every  other  consideration  of 
Ashoora  is  outweighed  by  the  memory  that  Hosein,  son 
of  Ali,  grandson  of  the  Prophet — the  true  line  of  the 
sacred  Caliphate,  which  other  men  have  violated — was 


230        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

cruelly  slain,  with  his  little  sons,  at  the  battle  of  the  Plain 
of  Karbala.  It  is  in  the  fact  that  Hosein  married  one 
of  the  daughters  of  the  last  monarch  of  the  Sasanid 
dynasty  that  we  must  look  for  the  explanation  of  this 
passionate  devotion  to  the  memory  of  Hosein,  and  his 
sons,  and  the  hold  this  martyrdom  has  always  had  over 
the  Persian  people.  They  saw  in  the  descendants  of 
this  union  the  heirs  of  their  ancient  kings,  and  the 
inheritors  of  their  national  traditions. 

To  every  Moslem,  however,  of  whatever  sect,  this 
is  a  great  day,  which  must  not  be  ignored.  For  even  in 
pre-Islamic  times  Ashoora  was  a  sacred  day  ;  the  first 
meeting  of  Adam  and  Eve  took  place  on  it,  after  they 
were  cast  out  of  Paradise  ;  it  is  the  day  on  which  Noah 
went  out  of  the  Ark  !  The  Nubian  lad  who  waits  on 
me  at  table  has  prepared  for  its  advent  by  sending, 
weeks  ago,  to  his  family  away  up  the  Nile  every  sort 
of  household  provision  ;  he  believes,  as  all  Moslems  do, 
that  traditional  saying  of  the  Prophet :  "  Whoso  giveth 
plenty  to  his  household  on  the  day  of  Ashoora,  Allah 
will  bestow  bounty  upon  him  for  the  rest  of  the  year." 

I  wish  I  could  paint  that  Oriental  scene  as  I  saw  it 
from  the  hotel  window.  Every  shop  had  been  turned 
into  a  place  for  the  reception  of  guests,  and  not  a  seat 
was  vacant.  The  red  tarboosh,  and  turban  of  the  Al 
Azar  student,  and  all  the  various  robes  of  sheikh  and 
merchant,  and  the  blue  galabieh  of  the  wondering 
fellaheen  who  had  come  in  from  the  country  far  and 
near,  sobered  by  the  modern  ugliness  of  the  dress  of  the 
effendi ;  the  extra  lights,  and  the  beautiful  lanterns — 
made  of  white  linen  with  Arabic  lettering  appliqued  in 
scarlet — hung  across  the  roads ;  with  police  and  soldiers 
mounted  and  on  foot  gradually  marshalling  the  moving 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        231 

throngs  into  line  ;  the  growing  tenseness  of  interest, 
which,  however,  never  broke  through  the  prevailing 
good  humour  :  all  this  made  a  living  picture,  vivid  and 
unique. 

By  nine  o'clock  the  police,  by  fair  means  or  foul — 
the  ignorant  Oriental  recruit  dressed  in  a  city  uniform 
is  a  terrible  and  most  loquacious  martinet — had  cleared 
the  road  and  made  a  rigid  cordon  at  the  edge  of  the 
pavements. 

Some  time  after  nine,  amid  intense  murmuring 
excitement,  the  procession  appeared.  First  a  sort  of 
sober  detached  deputation  of  Persian  men,  headed  by 
the  Consul.  I  could  not  help  a  little  cynical  amuse- 
ment to  see,  taking  a  leading  part  in  this  group,  a 
Persian  dignitary  who,  when  I  pressed  him  to  gain  for 
me  admission  to  the  house  from  which  the  procession, 
after  preliminary  ceremonies  (and  sacrifices,  too,  I  be- 
lieve), starts,  said,  "  With  the  utmost  pleasure,  I  would 
help  you  if  I  could ;  but  I  do  not  approve  of  this  exhibi- 
tion, and  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it !  "  The 
Persian  house  is  so  closely  guarded  on  this  occasion  that 
I  heard  the  British  agent  had  wished  to  be  present,  and 
had  been  refused  an  invitation.  My  Moslem  secretary, 
however,  was  given  a  card  of  admission,  as  the  most  that 
could  be  done  for  me  ! 

Then  came  a  number  of  boys,  many  of  them  carrying 
fine  old  wrought-iron  braziers  filled  with  flaring  fuel, 
the  effect  of  which  added  greatly  to  the  picturesque- 
ness  of  the  scene. 

Now  there  come  into  view  a  number  of  men,  with 
uncovered  heads,  wild  looking,  and  with  blood  spattered 
on  their  white  garments,  some  lashing  their  bare  backs 
across  the  shoulders  with  chains,  while  others  smite 


232         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

savagely  their  naked  breasts,  the  flesh  being  raw  and 
inflamed  with  the  punishment  they  are  inflicting  upon 
themselves.  All  the  time  they  cry  in  a  sort  of  subdued 
frenzy,  "  Hassan  !  Hosein  !  Bey  !  "  over  and  over 
again.  With  them  were  three  or  four  men,  apparently 
of  the  more  intelligent  class,  who  seemed  to  exercise 
some  authority  and  control,  calling  out  to  them  when  to 
cease  the  beatings,  and  making  a  casual  examination  of 
their  lacerated  flesh,  then  ordering  them  to  lay  on  again. 

This  part  of  the  performance,  I  thought,  was  perfectly 
genuine  and  free  from  artifice  ;  the  men  lashed  them-* 
selves  with  real  and  terrible  vigour.  My  Egyptian 
friends,  who  were  with  me,  decided  that  the  men  of 
this  group  were  true  Persians,  and  that  it  was  from 
a  sincere  realisation  of  the  sufferings  of  the  martyrs  they 
put  themselves  to  such  torture. 

On  a  small  Arab  horse  now  comes  a  little  boy,  of 
about  six  or  seven  years,  with  his  black  hair  shaved  back 
from  the  front  half  of  his  head.  His  forehead  was 
swollen  and  congested  ;  in  the  middle  of  it  were  two 
rough-looking  cuts,  and  what  looked  like  blood,  which 
had  flowed  from  them,  appeared  to  have  run  down  his 
face.  He  carried  in  his  hand  a  small  sword,  held 
upright  with  the  blade  towards  his  face,  and  we  were 
meant  to  suppose  that  he  had  made  the  wounds  himself. 
There  were  red  spots  all  down  the  front  of  his  white 
garment,  as  though  of  blood,  and  also  red  spatterings 
on  the  white  cover  of  the  horse.  I  never  saw  him  move 
the  sword,  and  as  far  as  his  expression  went,  the  child 
seemed  to  be  taking  a  dreamy  detached  interest  in  the 
show,  as  though  he  were  merely  an  onlooker,  and  certainly 
he  betrayed  no  sign  of  pain  or  distress,  either  for  himself 
or  for  the  martyr  Hosein. 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        233 

A  few  more  men  came,  beating  their  breasts,  and 
then  another  child  on  horseback,  perhaps  a  little  older 
than  the  first,  looking  very  like  him,  but  with  more 
blood  on  his  face  and  clothes.  It  occurred  to  me  that 
if  all  the  red  splashes  on  the  horse's  cover  were  blood 
from  this  child's  wounds,  he  could  not  have  sat  upright 
as  he  did,  his  eyes  bright  with  interest  in  what  was 
going  on.  Like  the  first  child  he  held  his  sword  rigid, 
and  I  never  saw  him  touch  the  two  horrid  wounds  on 
his  swollen  forehead,  although  I  thought  there  could 
be  no  doubt  of  the  blood  trickling  down  his  face  ;  a 
man  walking  by  his  side  turned  the  blood  aside  from  the 
child's  eyes  with  a  napkin,  the  boy  placidly  submitting. 
Both  boys  looked  to  me  as  though  they  might  have  been 
mildly  drugged.  They  were  both  children  of  beautiful 
and  refined  features,  their  part  being,  of  course,  to 
represent  the  children  of  Hosein,  who  were  killed  at 
the  same  time  as  their  father. 

Now  appeared  the  most  gruesome  and  revolting  part 
of  the  procession.  Two  long  rows  of  men,  walking  side- 
ways, facing  each  other,  with  their  backs  to  the  pave- 
ment, came  along,  with  wild  cries,  dancing  and  swaying 
from  right  to  left,  while  every  few  seconds  they  did 
actually  cut  their  horribly  swollen  foreheads  with  the 
swords  they  carried  upright  in  their  hands. 

"  Hassan  !  Hosein  !  Bey  !  "  they  reiterated,  excited 
thereto  by  several  men  who  passed  up  and  down  between 
them,  and  while  they  gave  orders,  wiped  the  streaming 
blood  from  the  faces  of  the  victims. 

It  was  not  the  actual  performance  that  was  so  revolt- 
ing as  the  very  low  criminal  type  of  man  who  was  en- 
gaged in  it.  With  their  heads  bare,  and  the  long  streaks 
of  hair  on  the  crowns  which  the  very  poor  sometimes 


234        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

instruct  the  barber  to  spare  from  his  razor,  waving  about 
in  their  horrible  sort  of  frenzied  monkey  dance,  these 
poor  wretches  looked  like  a  set  of  mad  villains,  partly 
drunk  and  partly  stupefied  ;  or,  from  the  way  they 
hesitated  in  their  task,  and  then  went  on  again  when 
ordered,  their  manner  suggested  some  sort  of  hypno- 
tism. 

"Hashish ! "  I  heard  one  of  my  Egyptian  friends  whisper 
behind  me,  and  turning,  I  saw  how  sickened  and  revolted 
my  friends  were.  "  This  is  not  Islam,"  they  said  ;  "  it 
is  shameful  that  it  should  be  allowed.  The  Sheikh 
Mohammed  Abdu  " — the  name  that  rises  to  every 
reformer's  lip  in  Egypt — "  would  have  stopped  every- 
thing of  this  sort  long  since,  if  for  mean  reasons  he  had 
not  been  opposed  in  high  places." 

What  lent  a  further  air  of  unreality  to  the  thing  was 
that  the  white  garments  of  these  men  were  covered, 
from  the  shoulders  to  the  feet,  with  what  was  meant  to 
look  like  fresh  dripped  blood.  The  very  overdoing  of 
this  detail  made  it  obvious  that  the  gore  had  been 
applied  as  a  theatrical  effect. 

The  explanation  of  the  sword-cutting,  which  my 
friends  gave,  was  justified  by  everything  I  saw. 
These  performers  are  not  Persians  at  all,  but  low-class 
persons,  of  no  matter  what  race,  to  be  found  in  the  slums 
of  Cairo  ;  possibly  hashish-smokers,  who  are  known  to 
be  willing  to  submit  to  this  ordeal  for  the  sake  of  a 
handsome  fee  and  the  accompanying  perquisites.  Their 
foreheads  are  treated  the  day  before  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  the  flesh  swollen  and  congested,  so  that  the  cutting 
is  really  a  relief,  and  looks  more  terrible,  from  the 
amount  of  the  suffused  blood  flowing  from  it  than  it 
really  is.  The  men  who  excite  and  urge  the  poor 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        235 

wretches  in  the  procession  are  Persians ;  but  the  per- 
formers themselves,  so  far  as  any  feeling  for  the  martyrs 
goes,  care  nothing  but  for  their  reward. 

The  whole  performance  seemed  like  a  relic  of  a 
sterner  and  more  barbaric  time,  made  doubly  horrible 
by  the  loss  of  the  sentiment,  and  the  genuine  passion, 
which  once  inspired  it.  Whether  the  Persians  keep 
alive  in  Egypt,  by  this  means,  some  remnant  of  the  real 
feeling  which  actuates  their  countrymen  to  inflict 
genuine  suffering  upon  themselves,  as  they  think  over 
the  agonies  and  death  of  their  saint  and  hero,  I  could 
not  determine. 

At  the  representation  of  the  Passion  play  of  Hassan 
and  Hosein  in  Persia,  the  audiences  are  so  worked  up 
with  the  passion  of  grief  and  pity  for  the  martyrs  that 
they  do  actually  and  very  severely  gash  themselves 
with  knives.  Often  they  pelt  the  men  who  act  the 
murderers'  part  in  the  Passion  play,  and  it  has  even 
happened  that  the  chief  player  has  himself  been  mur- 
dered by  the  enraged  audience.  On  one  occasion  the 
man  chosen  to  act  the  assassin's  part  in  the  massacre 
went  out  and  killed  himself  in  a  fit  of  remorse  and  dis- 
grace. So  genuine  indeed  is  this  celebration,  in  other 
places,  that  near  the  spot  where  the  martyr  and  his 
family  met  their  end  a  number  of  men  every  year  die 
from  their  self-inflicted  injuries.  In  Cairo,  however, 
there  is  scarcely  any  trace  left  of  real  passion,  and  in 
any  case,  this  feature  of  the  celebration  of  the  day  of 
Ashoora  ought,  in  the  public  interest,  to  be  stopped  in 
the  city ;  its  stage-managed  horrors  are  loathsome  and 
degrading,  and  they  are  repugnant  to  the  better  part 
of  the  inhabitants. 

When  the  procession  had  been  given  time  to  gain  the 


236        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

house  in  which  the  wounded  performers  are  taken  care 
of  until  they  are  fit  to  appear  again  in  public,  the  cordon 
of  police  broke  up  and  the  people  flooded  the  roads 
once  more.  It  was  a  very  amusing  crowd,  exchanging 
banter  and  compliment,  handshaking,  and  the  charming 
greetings  of  Eastern  folk,  the  good  manners  of  the 
Arab  canaille,  of  which  I  had  read  somewhere,  including 
even  the  stranger  and  alien.  I  never  heard  a  word  to 
suggest  fanaticism,  or  any  contempt  of  a  stranger,  but 
was  rather  myself  the  object  of  genial  courtesies,  which 
found  for  me  a  seat  in  the  cafes,  and  surrounded  me  with 
bright  smiling  faces  ;  while  combined  Oriental  pleasantry 
and  cunning  rendered  it  impossible  for  me  to  pay  for 
the  coffee  which  I  consumed.  I  stayed  for  hours  in  the 
street  by  the  Mosque  of  Hosein,  where,  of  course,  the 
people  most  thickly  congregated,  meeting  every  sort  of 
man,  from  the  learned  professor  at  Al  Azar,  to  the  fella- 
heen youth,  recognised  by  my  Cairene  friend  as  from  his 
native  village.  And  the  delight  of  those  social  hours 
took  away  the  nausea  of  the  Persian  contribution  to  the 
celebration  of  the  day  of  Ashoora. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  Mosque  of  Hosein  and 
Hassan  is  now  closed  on  this  day,  and  all  the  dervish 
performances  described  by  Lane  and  others  as  taking 
place  there,  at  Ashoora,  belong  to  the  past,  so  far  as  the 
public  are  concerned.  A  lingering  remnant  of  them 
remains  in  a  private  place  near  by,  where  to  make  any 
show  of  them  is  strictly  forbidden. 

On  several  occasions  I  have  been  honoured  by  an 
invitation  from  Moslem  friends  to  spend  with  them  one 
of  their  "  Nights  for  God."  It  is  a  beautiful  custom,  I 
think,  this  of  commemorating  the  chief  events  of  family  life 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS       237 

by  thus  dedicating  certain  nights  of  each  year.  Perhaps  a 
son  has  been  given  to  the  earnestly  praying  parents,  or 
some  signal  blessing  of  Providence  has  come  to  the 
family  in  other  ways — the  Moslem  is  frankly  grateful  to 
God  for  material  success — and  a  certain  night,  to  be 
dedicated  to  the  praise  of  God,  will  be  added  to  the 
household  calendar.  I  have  heard  of  cases  in  which 
thankfulness  for  a  legacy,  or  for  the  father's  official 
advancement,  as  well  as  for  escape  from  sickness,  or 
rescue  from  sudden  death,  have  been  made  the  reason 
for  such  ceremonies.  Most  families  have  at  least  one  such 
night  in  the  year  ;  others  have  as  many  as  three  or  four. 

It  will  most  likely  be  so  arranged  that  these  cele- 
brations fall  on  a  Wednesday  evening.  To  each  day  of 
the  week  different  attributes  are  given — Tuesday  being 
the  least  favoured  day  for  all  human  undertakings.  On 
Tuesday  it  is  believed  God  created  all  the  unpleasant 
things.  In  Moslem  lands  this  is  always  made  the  day  for 
the  execution  of  criminals.  No  man  would  marry  on 
Tuesday — "  Married  on  Tuesday,  hanged  on  Tuesday," 
is  a  universal  proverb.  A  tradition  makes  the  Prophet 
declare  that  "  on  Saturday  God  created  the  earth,  the 
mountains  on  Sunday,  the  trees  on  Monday,  darkness 
on  Tuesday,  light  on  Wednesday,  animals  on  Thursday, 
Adam  on  Friday." 

The  first  preparation  for  a  Night  for  God  is  to 
invite  intimate  friends  to  a  banquet  at  sunset ;  and  be 
sure  this  will  prove  a  bountiful  feast,  for  no  matter 
what  the  frugality  of  the  ordinary  life  of  the  Egyptian 
family  may  be,  they  will  provide  every  possible  delicacy 
in  abundance  when  they  invite  their  friends.  After 
the  feast,  coffee  and  cigarettes,  of  course,  when  the 
grave  and  reverend  members  of  the  party  will  retire, 


238        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

possibly  to  a  mosque  near  by,  or  failing  that  to  another 
apartment,  to  make  their  evening  prayer,  or  their 
special  Prayer  of  Praise,  while  the  younger  members 
of  the  family  entertain  the  rare  Christian  guest ;  to 
extend  an  invitation  to  a  non-Moslem  is  a  mark  of 
unusual  confidence. 

In  seeking  the  origin  of  this  form  of  celebration  I 
was  reminded  that  when  anyone  brought  good  news 
to  Mohammed  he  used  to  prostrate  himself  and  thank 
God.  He  attached  special  merit  to  the  Prayer  of 
Praise  for  his  followers,  and  recommended  them  to  add 
to  it  certain  devotional  exercises  called  "  Wird,"  or 
reading  portions  of  the  Koran,  especially  at  night. 
"  The  only  way  to  become  united  with  God  is  constant 
intercourse  with  Him,"  says  the  theologian  Ghazzali, 
writing  on  this  subject  of  the  Wird. 

After  the  prayer  all  the  party  will  assemble  in  the  sal- 
emlik,  and  a  sheikh,  who  has  been  engaged  through  being 
well  known  as  a  man  who  is  specially  accomplished  in  re- 
citing the  Koran  and  the  traditional  stories  of  the  Pro- 
phet, takes  up  his  position  on  a  special  high  chair  and  begins 
one  of  the  suras.  Immediately  every  leg  is  uncrossed, 
and  every  negligent  attitude  of  the  body  corrected  ; 
cigarettes  are  extinguished,  and  we  all  sit  in  silence, 
broken  only  by  the  "  Allans  "  of  approval  at  the  end  of 
any  verse  of  more  than  ordinary  power.  The  reading 
is  dramatic,  and  very  varied  in  style,  as  the  matter  of 
the  sura  changes  from  threat  to  pleading,  or  turns 
from  preaching  to  law-giving,  or  to  historical  record, 
or  to  passages  of  tender  poetic  charm.  In  most  cases 
the  sheikh  engaged  for  this  purpose  is  blind,  as  Koran 
reciting  is  a  recognised  profession  for  the  sightless,  of 
whom  there  are  too  many  in  the  East.  The  Oriental 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        239 

faculty  for  memorising  has  always  been  famous,  and 
these  men  all  know  the  whole  of  the  Koran  by  heart  (its 
length  is  about  two-thirds  that  of  the  New  Testament), 
as  well  as  much  of  the  traditional  lore  of  the  Prophet. 

What  is  the  deep  fascination  of  this  Koran,  that  men 
and  young  lads,  otherwise  impatient  of  anything  ap- 
proaching boredom,  will  sit  silent  and  motionless  for 
many  hours  while  it  is  read,  with  no  lagging  of  interest 
in  the  development  of  its  varying  periods. 

These  "Nights  for  God"  will  often  last  till 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  intervals  between 
the  suras  will  only  be  short,  but  it  is  not  until  the 
Koran  reading  is  finished — about  midnight,  when  the 
stories  of  tradition  follow — that  relaxation  is  permitted. 
I  know  the  Koran  is  to  them  the  very  word  of  God ; 
but  so  is  the  Bible  to  us.  The  Oriental  is  always  aifected 
by  grandeur  of  language,  and  especially  by  sonorous 
words  of  wisdom,  and  the  flash  upon  life  of  a  proverbial 
utterance  that  rings  true. 

It  was  the  genius  of  Mohammed  that  gave  the 
Arabs  in  the  Koran  a  book  not  only  of  laws  and  moral 
guidance,  but  a  book  which  in  parts  rises  to  the  heights 
of  noblest  poetry,  as  well  as  of  deep  wisdom  uttered  in 
the  form  of  rhythmic  proverbs.  While  they  declare  the 
Koran  to  be  the  one  great  miracle  of  the  Prophet's  life, 
in  a  very  true  sense  its  miraculous  power  appeals  to  them 
afresh,  in  its  style  as  well  as  in  its  teaching,  every  time 
they  hear  the  recitation  of  it. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  I  think,  that  the  genius  of  Shake- 
speare finds  a  deep  response  in  the  Eastern  mind  for 
some  such  reasons  as  I  have  stated.  A  native  theatre 
in  Cairo  has  staged  several  of  the  plays  of  our  great 
poet,  and  it  is  a  most  interesting  experience  to  hear 


24o        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Hamlet  and  Macbeth,  here  the  greatest  favourites,  given 
in  Arabic  to  an  audience  chiefly  of  Egyptian  students. 
Patience  !  it  was  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  the 
last  corpse  in  Hamlet  was  laid  upon  the  stage  ;  but  not 
a  seat  had  been  vacated.  The  lads  who  had  shared  a 
box  with  me  had  followed  every  line  of  the  play  with 
great  eagerness,  groaning  deepest  approval  of  those 
great  passages  which  we  in  the  West  have  always  specially 
treasured.  When  the  play  was  at  last  ended,  these 
lads  were  sad  as  night,  with  a  sense  of  haunting  terror, 
from  which  I  could  not  shake  them.  "  Sir,"  said  one 
of  them,  when  I  questioned  him,  "  it  is  very  dreadful. 
Not  that  so  many  people  died,  but  that  they  deserved 
their  fate  !  "  The  proprietor,  knowing  the  moods  of 
his  Oriental  patrons,  followed  his  invariable  custom 
when  he  puts  on  Hamlet,  and  had  engaged  two  comic 
men  to  amuse  the  audience — at  that  hour  of  the  morning 
too  ! — before  they  went  home.  My  friends  said  that  if 
they  had  not  laughed  at  the  quips  and  cranks  of  the 
clowns,  they  would  have  been  afraid,  and  unable  to 
sleep ! 


CHAPTER   IV 

"  It  is  quite  certain  that  Mohammed  won  the  absolute  support  of  his 
first  converts  and  swordsmen  by  first  gaining  their  hearts  ...  an  appre- 
hension of  the  highest  and  deepest  reality  of  existence,  took  possession 
of  Mohammed.  Every  fibre  of  his  being  responded  to  it,  and  the  hearts 
of  his  followers  were  kindled  by  the  flame  in  the  Prophet's  soul." 

Dr.  G.  M.  Grant,  The  Religions  of  the  World. 

THE  greatest  birthday  festival  of  all  the  year,  of  course, 
is  the  Moolid  of  the  Prophet,  which  in  Cairo  is  celebrated 
with  a  splendour  scarcely  realised  by  ordinary  visitors. 
Indeed,  Stanley  Lane-Poole  in  his  famous  book  on  Cairo 
dismisses  the  event  as  hardly  worth  noting,  after  it  had 
ceased  to  be  held  in  "  the  waste  land  called  Ezbekiya, 
then  a  large  lake  during  high  Nile,  but  a  fine  open  piece 
of  ground  when  the  river  retired  to  its  banks."  To  say, 
as  he  does,  that  "  the  tents  have  mostly  disappeared," 
is  more  than  misleading ;  it  is  the  very  antithesis  of  the 
truth.  I  imagine  there  is  no  yearly  celebration  anywhere 
in  the  world  that  can  compare  with  the  Moolid  en-Nebee, 
as  it  is  celebrated  at  the  present  day  at  Cairo  ;  where 
the  immense  square  of  decorated  and  illuminated  tents 
set  up  at  Abbassieh — one  of  Cairo's  near  suburbs — make 
up  a  scene  of  unrivalled  splendour. 

The  carnival  begins,  however,  earlier  in  the  day, 
when  all  native  Cairo  is  en  fete  for  the  great  procession 
which  musters  in  the  square  of  Bab-el- Khalk  and  marches 
out  to  Abbassieh.  This  procession  is  still  a  wonderful 
sight ;  if  it  has  been  shorn  of  some  of  its  fearful  Oriental 
extravagances  and  Dervish  frenzies,  it  has  lost  little  or 
nothing  of  the  variety  and  colour,  and  its  intense  human 
16 


242        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

interest.  The  Moolid  fell  this  year  (1912)  on  29th 
February,  which  corresponded  with  the  I2th  day  of 
Rabeea  el-Owwal,  the  third  month  of  the  Moslem  year. 
This  date  is  that  of  the  death  as  well  as  the  birth  of  the 
Prophet.  Seeing  the  procession,  as  I  did,  from  the 
porch  of  the  mosque  of  Sultan  Mouayyed,  where  we 
faced  the  procession  as  it  came  slowly  through  the 
shadows  of  the  fine  old  gateway  of  Bab  Zoueilah  into 
the  sunlit  street,  with  all  its  many  coloured  banners 
waving,  I  could  imagine  no  sight  more  characteristic 
of  the  East,  in  the  curious  blending  of  the  pure  pleasure- 
making  of  a  people's  holiday  with  religious  observance. 
It  was  a  genuine  gala  day,  on  which  merriment  was  not 
diminished  because  every  man  constantly  cried  aloud  of 
the  greatness  of  God. 

Before  taking  my  place  at  the  mosque,  I  enjoyed 
a  delightful  hour  on  the  steps  of  the  Arab  Museum, 
watching  the  gathering  crowds  of  men  and  boys  who 
were  to  form  the  long  stream  which  was  to  flow  through 
the  narrow  city  alleys  to  Abbassieh.  From  all  directions 
there  gradually  collected  groups,  wearing  distinctive 
colours,  and  bearing  banners  and  staves.  From  every 
side  street  and  alley,  by  some  invisible  control,  all  these 
groups  eventually  concentrated  in  the  great  square,  in  a 
seething,  good-humoured,  very  noisy  mass,  looking  as 
little  able  to  shape  itself  into  anything  in  the  form  of  a 
procession  as  a  Hampstead  Heath  crowd  might  be  to 
suddenly  assume  a  military  formation.  Of  generalship 
there  seemed  to  be  none  ;  except  perhaps  in  the  case 
of  one  young  mounted  Egyptian  officer  who  gave  a 
casual  instruction  here  and  there. 

Now  and  then  the  groups  would  close  up,  moved 
by  some  common  impulse ;  they  would  chant  and 


ONE  OF  THE  FAMOUS  CITY  GATES  AT  CAIRO. 


THE  GATHERING  CROWDS  OF  MEN  AND  BOYS  FOR  THE  PROCESSION  ON 
THE  PROPHET'S  BIRTHDAY. 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        243 

dance,  and  then,  with  hands  upon  their  breasts,  follow, 
with  sudden  seriousness,  the  supplication  to  Heaven  of 
the  sheikh  who  was  with  them.  It  was  only  their 
moments  of  prayer  that  stopped  the  constant  drumming 
which  seems  to  be  a  special  feature  of  this  f£te,  for 
almost  every  man  and  boy  carried  in  his  left  hand  a 
small  sort  of  basin  drum  on  which  he  beat  with  a  short 
strap.  This  drum  is  called  a  tabl,  and  is  used  in  certain 
religious  functions,  and  in  the  old  days  was  the  instru- 
ment by  which  the  innumerable  dervishes  called  atten- 
tion to  their  coming  performances.  Even  when  a 
group  would  turn,  to  buy  and  eat  food,  from  the 
portable  stands  of  the  innumerable  and  thriving  venders 
of  cakes,  rissoles,  sweets,  and  nuts,  they  contrived  to 
keep  up  their  drumming. 

No  one,  surely,  could  help  taking  a  delight  in  the 
glowing  good-nature  which  actuated  all  these  folk,  many 
of  them  simple  fellaheen  from  distant  country  places. 
There  was  a  sort  of  communal  idea  binding  them  in 
one  interest,  which  led  every  man  and  boy  to  be  willing 
to  share  his  food  with  everyone  else.  In  all  that  great 
crowd  I  was  quite  sure  no  man  went  hungry  on  that  day. 
And  were  the  banners  heavy  ? — a  dozen  eager  hands 
were  ready  to  take  a  share  of  the  burden.  The  blind 
who  abound  in  every  Eastern  crowd,  and  to  whom 
Moslem  people  are  always,  as  a  religious  duty,  very 
kind,  were  to-day  cared  for  with  more  than  ordinary 
tenderness. 

The  forest  of  waving  banners — for  such  it  had  now 
become — was  a  beautiful  sight  in  the  golden  sunshine. 
But  it  might  well  be  asked  again  how  an  organised 
procession,  and  one  able  to  go  through  those  narrow 
streets  of  the  city,  could  ever  be  evolved  out  of  such 


244         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

seething  chaos.  But  knowing  these  people  as  I  do,  I 
was  confident  that  at  a  given  moment  some  spring 
would  be  touched,  the  secret  of  which  is  unknowable 
to  the  Western  mind,  with  its  exclusive  confidence  in 
the  order  which  can  only  be  gained  by  elaborate 
"  organisation,"  and  the  aim  of  all  this  gathering  would 
be  perfectly  realised. 

In  this  confidence  I  set  off,  by  a  narrow  and  deserted 
back-way,  to  gain  the  mosque,  where  I  am  known  to 
the  sheikhs,  who  are  keeping  places  at  the  top  of  the 
fine  steps  at  the  main  entrance.  Already  the  scene 
there  is  one  of  marvellous  picturesqueness  ;  the  dark 
gateway,  in  the  high  city  walls,  forming  a  perfect  back- 
ground to  the  bright  colours  of  the  ever- moving  crowd, 
as  little  organised  to  make  way  for  a  procession  as  the 
throngs  on  the  other  side  of  the  gate  seem  to  be  to 
form  themselves  into  an  ordered  stream.  Everywhere 
there  are  groups  of  women  of  the  poorer  classes,  closely 
veiled, — in  the  doorways,  on  the  roofs,  sitting  at  our 
feet  on  the  mosque  steps,  with  restless  children  (how 
many  of  the  little  girls  were  carrying  babies  I  do  not 
know), — darting  in  and  out. 

On  the  wide  porch  steps,  too,  were  some  of  the 
solemn-looking  boys  of  the  mosque  school — junior 
students  of  Al  Azar — with  their  red  fezes  and  clean 
white  turbans,  and  the  long  black  robe,  or  gibbeh, 
which  falls  so  gracefully  from  the  neck  to  the  feet ;  and 
in  the  recesses  of  that  beautiful  porch  were  the  nice  old 
men,  "servants  of  the  mosque,"  who  inquired  every 
now  and  then  if  we  thought  the  demonstration 
"  kuwaiyis  "  or  good. 

It  was  a  scene  to  inspire  an  artist  or  even  a  poet,  for 
as  the  sunlight,  falling  into  the  street  between  the 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        245 

irregular  roofs,  brought  out  the  strange  beauty  of  light 
and  shade  which  glorifies  these  native  Eastern  ways, 
the  fascination  of  the  picture  before  us  was  thrilling  to 
minds  brought  up  in  the  plainer  and  more  sombre  West. 
What  spell  is  it  that  can  so  blind  one  to  dirt,  and  the 
sordid  signs  of  poverty,  and  a  want  of  plan  and  order  in 
these  streets  r  In  a  more  Northern  climate  the  sight 
of  the  dirt  and  the  sordidness  would  be  unendurable. 

And  now,  at  last,  the  head  of  the  procession  appears 
in  the  gateway  ;  and  the  long,  long  train  of  it  comes 
steadily  onwards,  in  as  perfect  order  as  any  popular 
demonstration  would  go  through  the  streets  of  the 
West.  It  is  divided  into  sections,  each  made  up  of  a 
sort  of  guild  of  the  followers  of  a  certain  saint  or  teacher, 
under  the  direction  of  a  living  sheikh  or  dervish  who 
rides  on  horseback,  and  is  generally  a  descendant  of  the 
saint ;  the  guilds  being  called  in  Arabic  the  "  ways  " 
of  their  dervishes. 

The  different  Ways  are  shown  by  the  special  turbans 
and  banners ;  and  at  the  end  of  each  Way  the  sheikh 
rode  on  his  horse,  guarded  by  his  followers,  who  held  off 
the  crowds  with  flag-poles,  carried  horizontally  on  each 
side  of  the  horse.  I  imagine  that  in  the  old  days  these 
chief  dervishes  were  more  liable  to  be  mobbed  than 
they  are  in  modern  Cairo  ;  I  have  seen  such  a  man  on 
a  ceremonial  occasion  in  the  Sahara  Desert  almost 
killed  by  the  persistence  of  his  devoted  followers  in 
embracing  him  ;  struggling  with  each  other  to  get  near 
enough  just  to  touch  his  burnous,  if  an  actual  salute 
of  his  person  were  impossible. 

On  this  occasion,  in  Cairo,  a  few  people  tried  to  gain 
a  personal  salutation  from  the  sheikhs,  but  without  any 
crowding  or  excitement.  The  sheikh  usually  rode  with 


246        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

his  hands  covered  in  the  long  sleeves  of  his  robe,  a  sign 
of  deep  humility  in  an  Oriental,  and  eyes  closed,  quietly 
muttering  what  I  believe  was  the  beautiful  "  Mecca  " 
Sura  of  the  Koran,  which  is  given  a  place  in  the  Moslem's 
devotions  equal  to  that  given  by  Christians  to  the  Lord's 
Prayer. 

"  Praise  be  to  God,  Lord  of  the  Worlds  ! 
The  compassionate,  the  merciful  ! 
King  on  the  day  of  reckoning. 

Thee  only  do  we  worship,  and  to  Thee  do  we  cry  for  help. 
Guide  Thou  us  on  the  straight  path, 

The  path  of  those  to  whom  Thou  hast  been  gracious  ;  with  whom 
Thou  art  not  angry,  and  who  go  not  astray.     Amen." 

And  all  the  time,  in  rhythm  to  the  march,  the  rank  and 
file  kept  repeating  the  praises  of  God  :  "  Great  is  God  ! 
There  is  no  God  but  God  ! !  Allah  ! ! !  Allah  ! ! !  " 

It  was  the  special  office  of  some  of  the  Ways  to  carry 
scent  in  bottles  and  sprinkle  it  on  the  crowds ;  others 
had  burning  incense  on  trays.  The  leader  of  another 
Way  carried  aloft  on  a  beautiful  tray  a  special  copy  of  the 
Koran,  covered  with  an  embroidered  cloth.  In  another 
Way  a  whirling  dervish  gave  a  dance  at  intervals  in  quite 
a  business-like  way,  with  an  entire  absence  of  the  abandon 
and  frenzy  one  has  read  of,  his  white  skirt,  evidently 
heavily  weighted  at  the  edge,  spreading  out  like  a  fan 
with  his  rapid  twirling. 

Occasionally  the  men  and  lads  who  carried  banners 
showed  signs  of  excitement,  leading  them  to  persist  in 
dancing  until  they  were  about  to  fall  with  exhaustion, 
at  the  first  signs  of  which  they  were  relieved.  The 
banners  were  heavy,  and  there  was  enough  breeze  to 
test  the  powers  of  endurance  of  the  stoutest  bearers. 

One  particular  banner  was  treated  with  great  respect : 
people  on  the  balconies  and  at  upper  windows  would  try 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        247 

to  grasp  its  folds  to  kiss  it ;  and  the  man  carrying  it,  as  he 
passed  me,  was  on  the  point  of  collapse  from  emotion  and 
exhaustion  in  his  efforts  to  carry  his  heavy  burden  while 
executing  the  religious  dance.  An  old  sheikh  on  one  side 
of  me  told  me  in  an  awed  voice  that  "  a  nail  brought  from 
the  Kaaba  at  Mecca  was  in  the  pole  of  that  banner  " ; 
while  on  the  other  side  an  educated  effendi  whispered  to 
me  in  English,  "  It  is  not  true,  of  course  !  " 

The  last  Way,  and  the  longest,  to  pass  is  that  of  the 
descendants  of  Abu  Bakr,  the  Prophet's  friend  and  the 
first  Caliph  of  Islam.  I  have  spoken  of  the  Sheikh  el- 
Bekri,  whose  palace  I  visited.  He  is  the  chief  of  all  the 
sheikhs  who  order  these  guilds,  and  is  described  as  the 
occupant  of  the  Prayer  Carpet — sign  of  a  spiritual  throne 
— of  his  noble  ancestor,  the  first  Prince  of  Islam.  On 
this  occasion  the  sheikh  has  sent  a  representative  to 
carry  his  banner,  he  himself  being  already  at  Abbassieh, 
where  he  has  generously  invited  me  to  a  banquet  in  his 
tent  at  sunset. 

Knowing  this  cultured  and  gentle  sheikh,  el-Bekri, 
it  is  with  difficulty  that  one  can  realise  that  only  as 
long  ago  as  the  reign  of  the  late  Khedive  it  was  at  this 
point  of  the  procession  that  the  ceremony  of  the  Doseh 
was  performed,  in  which  the  Sheikh  el-Bekri  rode  his 
horse  over  the  backs  of  a  number  of  men  who  placed 
themselves  closely  together  upon  the  ground  for  that 
purpose,  in  the  firm  belief  that,  if  they  were  worthy, 
no  injury  could  come  to  them.  To-day  the  Bekri 
Guild  passed  with  little  special  notice.  A  murmur  of 
appreciation  was  heard,  and  some  of  the  women  on  the 
balconies  tried  to  grasp  the  flags,  to  rub  their  faces 
with  them.  It  should  be  stated  that  over  eighty  years 
since  the  Sheikh  el-Bekri  of  that  day  refused  for  several 


248        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

years  to  perform  the  Doseh,  or  treading.  But  the  time 
was  not  ripe  for  the  abolition  of  so  old  a  rite.  In  re- 
sponse to  entreaty,  he  appointed  a  substitute — a  blind 
man,  who  did  not  long  survive  the  honour.  A  unanimous 
request  from  the  other  dervishes  led  him  to  perform  it 
again  himself.  It  was  regarded  as  a  miracle,  the  neces- 
sary supernatural  power  being  granted  to  the  successive 
representatives  of  this  family. 

When  the  end  of  the  procession  had  passed,  the 
crowds  betook  themselves  to  their  pleasures,  many  of 
them  making  their  way  to  Abbassieh. 

The  whole  celebration  has  become  very  restrained 
and  subdued,  as  compared  with  earlier  days.  Mohammed 
Abdu  sought  to  have  it  altogether  abolished.  In  the 
days  of  the  Doseh,  the  many  dervishes  gave  revolting 
performances  in  the  streets,  which  had  their  origin  in 
more  barbaric  times,  when  men  threw  themselves  into 
a  state  of  catalepsy  in  a  crude  but  genuine  pursuit  of  a 
mystic  communion  with  God,  but  which  afterwards 
came  to  be  little  more  than  the  cynical  trickery  of  the 
charlatan,  to  impose  upon  the  masses  of  the  people. 
If  the  reforming  sheikh,  Mohammed  Abdu,  was  not 
successful  in  abolishing  these  demonstrations  altogether, 
he  did  much  to  suppress  their  cruder  features. 

I  have  seen,  in  the  desert,  many  of  the  dervish  mani- 
festations— of  the  genuineness  of  which  there  could  be 
no  sort  of  doubt ;  tricks  which  call  for  a  more  convincing 
surgical  explanation  than  they  have  at  present  received. 
I  have  seen  live  coals  held  under  the  bare  arms,  large 
packing-needles  thrust  through  the  cheeks  and  eyelids, 
the  eating  of  quantities  of  broken  glass,  and  other 
terrible  things.  And  I  have  also  seen  in  the  desert,  too, 
how  nearly  allied  this  sort  of  thing  can  be  to  vulgar 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        249 

juggling  as  soon  as  it  becomes  a  regular  item  in  a  public 
show. 

In  Cairo  the  last  stage  of  these  performances  in 
public  was  a  revolting  depravity — the  ecstasies  suggested 
hashish,  and  the  flesh-piercing  became  almost  undis- 
guised conjuring,  with  special  trick  implements. 

However,  now  that  from  this  procession  almost  all 
traces  of  excess  have  been  eliminated,  it  has  become 
what  seems  to  my  mind  a  reasonable  way  of  celebrating 
a  great  popular  festival.  It  was,  indeed,  an  impressive 
sight  to  see  thousands  of  the  poorest  folk  making  holiday, 
and,  while  giving  themselves  up  to  the  utmost  enjoy- 
ment, finding  their  chief  delight  in  extolling  the  name 
of  God,  by  continually  naming  His  gracious  attributes. 
Repetition  ?  Yes.  But  no  one  can  begin  to  under- 
stand these  children  of  the  East  until  they  know  the 
power  that  mere  repetition  has  over  their  minds.  The 
very  Arabic  language  seems  to  foster  repetition  ;  one 
of  the  charms  of  the  Koran  is  the  use  that  is  made  of 
it ;  and  even  in  ordinary  conversation  certain  forms  of 
repetition  have  a  well-understood  use  in  creating  definite 
cumulative  effects.  The  very  greetings  even  of  the 
poorest  are  a  gradual  development  from  certain  simple 
phrases  leading  to  a  perfect  expression  of  courteous 
interest  in  the  well-being  of  a  friend.  In  any  other 
language,  and  with  any  other  people,  this  method,  which 
never  loses  an  indefinable  gracefulness  and  charm, 
would  lead  to  an  almost  meaningless  formalism.  To  the 
common  people  in  all  lands  constant  repetition  of  the 
songs  and  sayings  of  the  day  seems  to  have  an  irresistible 
fascination  ;  in  listening  to  these  men  chanting  their 
constant  refrain,  "  God  is  most  Great ! "  "  God  is  Good ! " 
I  could  not  help  thinking  of  certain  Bank  Holiday 


25o        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

crowds  I  know  of,  singing  for  ever  the  same  song,  and 
unwearyingly  bandying  the  same  phrase,  which  for  the 
time  being  possesses  the  popular  fancy. 

There  are  a  great  many  of  these  Guilds  or  Ways 
in  Egypt,  and  membership  is  highly  valued  by  the 
members,  forming  as  they  do  a  sort  of  freemasonry, 
both  in  the  secrecy  of  some  of  their  rules  and  ceremonies 
and  in  their  mutual  obligations.  Each  Guild  is  confined 
to  men  of  a  certain  class  or  trade,  or  from  the  same 
distant  country.  Some  have  regular  fasts  at  certain 
tombs,  others  confine  themselves  in  cells,  others  meet 
once  a  week  for  whole  nights  of  prayer.  In  almost  all 
cases  part  of  their  religious  exercises  include  the  bewailing 
of  sin  and  the  begging  of  the  forgiveness  of  God,  with 
the  assertion  of  a  resolution  not  to  relapse.  In  all  my 
inquiries  of  their  chief  sheikhs  I  was  careful  to  elicit 
their  rules  on  this  point — so  often  I  had  read  that 
"  the  consciousness  of  sin  "  was  entirely  absent  from 
the  Moslem  mind.  "  The  guilt  of  sin  is  not  recognised," 
says  Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall ;  going  on  to  that  awful 
judgment,  "  It  will  be  evident  that  purity  of  heart  is 
neither  considered  necessary  nor  desirable  ;  in  fact,  it 
would  be  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  impossible, 
for  a  Moslem  " — the  italics  being  his. 

The  very  courteous  invitation  I  received  to  partake 
of  the  banquet  which  would  be  served  in  the  tent  of  the 
Sheikh  el-Bekri  at  Abbassieh,  "  at  the  setting  of  the  sun," 
was  a  great  compliment.  On  the  great  plain  a  vast 
number  of  splendid  tents  had  been  set  up  in  an  enormous 
square.  The  Khedive's  tent,  lined  with  dark  red,  was 
in  the  middle  of  the  top  row,  and  next  to  his  the  tent 
to  which  I  was  invited,  a  very  fine  one — lined  with 
green — as  became  the  cheif  sheikh  of  the  country,  by 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        251 

whom  this  very  pavilion  has  been  inherited  from  a  long 
line  of  the  chief  descendants  not  alone  of  the  Prophet 
but  of  the  great  Caliph  Abu  Bakr.  My  host  has  again 
united  the  two  noble  families  by  marrying  the  daughter 
of  the  house  of  Sadat — the  Prophet's  chief  representa- 
tives, he  being  the  head  of  the  family  which  has  come 
in  an  unbroken  line  from  Abu  Bakr  ;  and  as  his  father- 
in-law  had  no  son,  he  has  succeeded  to  the  chief  honours 
of  Islam  in  Egypt. 

Other  tents  in  the  long  rows  belonged  to  the  Ministers 
of  State,  the  great  public  departments  of  the  Govern- 
ment, the  Wakfs  administration,  the  different  Ways, 
and  to  many  of  the  great  Moslem  families. 

Until  this  year,  even  the  elder  school  students  had 
always  had  a  tent  of  their  own.  But  schoolboy  repression 
is  the  order  of  the  day  under  Lord  Kitchener's  regime, 
and  the  lads  are  sent  away  lamenting  the  last  vestige  of 
those  liberties  which  had  previously  enabled  them  to 
take  part  in  certain  public  demonstrations  to  celebrate 
the  glories  of  the  early  days  of  Islam,  and  to  sing  the 
praises  of  their  Prophet. 

Seen  in  daylight,  these  tents,  with  their  flags  and 
mottoes,  made  a  wonderful  setting  for  a  scene  of  national 
rejoicing.  Some  of  them  had  really  beautiful  gardens 
of  flowers  and  palms,  made  temporarily  in  the  sand  ; 
the  Bekri  tent  being  particularly  beautiful  in  the  floral 
decorations  of  its  awning-covered  court. 

Imagine  what  a  scene  of  splendour  this  became 
when  a  million  electric  lights,  in  every  colour,  sprang 
forth  at  sunset,  in  a  thousand  graceful  devices,  all  round 
the  vast  square,  outlining  and  decorating  all  the  pavilions, 
and  the  myriad  candles  sparkled  in  the  lustre  chandeliers 
of  the  tents.  The  immense  crowd,  including  all  the 


252        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

great  procession  and  its  followers,  might  well  groan 
with  deepest  delight  at  what  must  have  seemed  to  the 
Oriental  mind  a  foretaste  of  the  splendours  of  Paradise. 
To  the  fellaheen  from  the  remote  and  silent  hamlets 
the  sight  must  have  been  almost  overpowering. 

I  need  not  describe  the  banquet,  except  to  express 
further  wonder  at  the  organisation  that  could  serve 
such  a  feast,  prepared  and  cooked  in  tents  erected  for 
the  use  of  a  single  day.  It  was  one  of  a  hundred 
banquets,  all  prepared  in  kitchen  tents,  connected  at 
the  back  of  the  pavilions.  The  luxuries  of  the  East 
and  the  West  were  combined — the  Oriental  monarch's 
favourite  kunafa,  made  from  a  seventh-century  recipe, 
followed  by  modern  ice  puddings  which  might  have 
come  from  Gunter's. 

After  dinner  we  sat  on  the  gorgeous  gilded  chairs  and 
sofas  in  the  outer  tent,  when  Yemen  coffee  was  brought 
to  us  in  priceless  china  cups,  which  were  placed  on  the 
gilded  tables  with  tiny  square  tops  peculiar  to  the  East. 
Many  great  people,  most  of  them  handsomely  dressed 
sheikhs  and  ulemas,  came  to  the  tent  to  pay  their 
respects  to  their  chief. 

Later,  we  went  on  a  round  of  visits  to  the  other  tents, 
returning  about  eight  o'clock,  as  all  the  dignitaries  and 
nobles  began  to  assemble  near  the  Khedive's  tent  for  the 
reception  of  His  Highness,  who  was  due  at  nine  o'clock. 

By  this  time  the  crowds  were  enormous,  but  the  order 
maintained  by  the  police  was  such  that,  when  the  Khe- 
dive's procession  appeared,  he  was  able  to  drive  right 
round  the  vast  square  by  a  road  cut  clean  and  sharp  by 
the  police  and  soldiers  through  the  dense  mass  of  human 
beings.  His  Highness's  arrival  was  the  signal  for  the 
bursting  forth  of  a  huge  cascade  of  fire  from  the  centre  of 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        253 

the  square,  the  lighting  of  many  set-pieces  of  fireworks, 
the  exploding  of  cannon,  the  whizz  of  rockets  which 
showered  over  us  myriads  of  every  sort  of  coloured  star. 
The  bands  played,  the  drums  rattled,  the  crowd  "  oh'd  " 
with  delight ;  for  in  the  East  the  people  seldom  or 
never  cheer. 

For  nearly  an  hour  the  fireworks  were  maintained 
with  bewildering  profusion  and  brilliancy.  During  this 
time  the  Khedive  was  holding  court  in  the  scarlet  tent. 
As  soon  as  the  display  ended,  he  withdrew  to  his  carriage, 
amidst  low  salaams,  and  with  his  family  and  suite  drove 
away.  At  the  moment  that  he  left  the  square  the  police 
relaxed  their  hold  of  the  crowds,  which  at  once  became 
a  resistless  ocean. 

I  now  made  a  tour  of  the  tents  which  I  had  not 
already  seen.  These  were  on  the  far  side  of  the  square, 
and  were  mostly  occupied  by  dervishes,  many  of  them 
engaged  in  leading  "  ziks,"  which,  as  we  passed,  were  at 
different  stages  of  development — from  the  calm,  dignified 
start,  when  the  name  of  "  Allah !  Allah  !  "  is  repeated 
with  scarcely  a  movement  of  the  head,  to  the  last  stage 
of  excitement,  where  some  of  the  dancers  had  fallen 
exhausted  from  the  unrestrained  and  awful  exertion  to 
which  they  had  gradually  been  excited  by  their  dervishes. 

These  things  are  nearly  as  old  as  the  Moolid  itself, 
though  many  of  the  ancient  features  have  been  dropped. 
The  dancing-girl  no  longer  has  a  place  in  such  festivities, 
and  the  buffoons  and  conjurers  had  no  stage  here  that  I 
could  discover  ;  and  I  could  find  no  representative  of 
the  lower  orders  of  dervishes  who  used  to  chew  and 
swallow  red-hot  coals  and  crunch  and  swallow  glass  with 
apparent  enjoyment. 

When  I  got  home,  after  mingling  with  and  being 


254        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

jostled  by  these  crowds  of  people,  most  of  them  of  the 
poorest  class,  both  of  town  and  country,  I  did  not  find 
one  even  of  the  "  no  fewer  than  eight  lice  on  my  cloth- 
ing," which  Lane  so  quaintly  records  as  an  item  of  his 
attending  the  great  Moolid. 

The  greatest  sign  of  the  modern  spirit,  however,  was 
to  be  found  in  one  of  the  larger  tents,  where  a  preacher, 
whom  I  know  well,  was  standing  on  a  platform  and 
delivering  a  sermon  to  a  great  crowd,  who  listened  to  his 
moral  exhortations  with  deep  attention.  This  is  the 
sheikh  I  have  spoken  of  in  another  place,  who  conducts 
"  missions  "  in  different  parts  of  Egypt.  That  he  is  a 
most  effective  speaker  was  manifest  :  his  appeals  and 
warnings  were  received  in  breathless  silence ;  then, 
when  the  tension  had  become  almost  too  great,  he 
would  tell  some  apt  story  from  real  life,  or  from  Arab 
history,  raising  a  smile,  or  sending  a  quiet  laugh  round 
the  whole  tent.  In  some  ways  one  could  have  imagined 
this  to  be  a  meeting  of  a  "  tent  mission  "  in  England  (or 
Wales)  ;  but  the  inevitable  touch  of  the  East  could  not 
long  be  wanting — in  one  of  the  pauses  the  sheikh  took 
out  his  little  scent-bottle,  and  with  its  glass  "  dropper  " 
offered  me  and  other  friends  who  were  near  the  refresh- 
ment of  a  tiny  drop  of  the  pure  essence  of  musk  on  the 
palms  of  our  hands. 

Musk,  it  may  be  remarked,  was  the  favourite  scent 
of  the  Prophet,  "  the  odour  of  Paradise."  In  the 
native  parts  of  Cairo  the  air  is  full  of  this  scent  on 
Fridays,  for  after  the  great  ablution  it  is  usual  to  scent 
the  body  with  it  before  the  noonday  prayer.  I  could  not 
say  how  many  presents  I  and  my  wife  had  of  bottles  of 
scent  given  us  by  sheikh  friends,  always  either  musk  or 
jasmine  ;  and  as  I  was  obliged  to  refuse  cigarettes,  a 


GREAT  FEASTS  AND  FESTIVALS        255 

touch  of   the  scent  on   all  occasions  was   offered    me 
instead. 

It  was  with  difficulty  that  we  found  the  carriage  of 
our  Moslem  friend  who  had  kindly  brought  us  from 
Cairo.  As  we  drove  away  from  the  scene  of  another 
true  Arabian  night,  I  wondered  again  how  it  had  all  been 
brought  to  a  perfect  realisation,  in  this  land  of  "  bukra  " 
(to-morrow),  of  indifference  to  contract,  of  seeming  im- 
potence in  the  realm  of  definite  accomplishment  and 
organised  effort.  But  again  I  realised  that  in  this,  as 
in  many  other  matters,  the  West  often  judges  stupidly, 
leaping  to  conclusions  which  are  utterly  misleading. 
We  too  easily  think  the  Eastern  people  wrong  at  the  point 
where  they  differ  from  us.  I  know  it  is  constitutional 
with  them  to  push  aside  vexation,  both  for  themselves 
and  for  you,  with  the  eternal  "  ma'alesh  "  (do  not  think 
of  it),  and  they  are  unpunctual  and  slack  over  the  too- 
readily-made  appointment.  But  for  all  that,  the 
Oriental,  though  he  chooses  other  hours  than  the 
European  for  his  labours,  often  works  very  hard,  and 
occasionally  develops  a  genius  for  the  control  of  wide- 
spread interests.  If  we  are  ever  to  understand  them,  we 
must  remember,  as  a  first  principle,  that  they  approach 
every  question  in  life  in  a  way  exactly  opposite  from 
ourselves ;  and  this  in  itself  will  defeat  every  attempt  at 
a  swift  Western  judgment  of  them.  I  wish  there  was  a 
more  general  desire  to  bring  to  the  study  of  people  who 
depend  upon  our  understanding  of  them,  and  a  conse- 
quent exercise  of  justice,  a  slower  and  more  painstaking 
temper  than  in  truth  one  can  say  exists  at  the  present 
time. 


BOOK   IV 
THE   GREAT   QUESTIONS   OF   ISLAM 

AS    INTERPRETED    THROUGH    THE    MOSLEMS    THEMSELVES 


It  is  the  author's  hope  and  belief  that  to  him,  as  to  others  who  have 
ventured,  on  grounds  of  conscientious  principle,  to  think  for  themselves 
on  the  subject  of  Islam,  may  be  justly  ascribed  "  the  motives  of  the 
humble  inquirer  who  wishes  to  attribute  actions  to  good  intentions  when 
he  can,  and  hopes  to  be  able  to  discern  something  short  of  unmixed  evil 
in  a  dispensation  which  has  been  allowed  for  centuries  to  regulate  the 
morals  and  religious  feelings  of  millions  :  to  claim  some  favourable  con- 
sideration for  the  instructor  and  legislator  of  a  whole  hemisphere,  and  to 
do  something  to  dissipate  the  cloud  of  absurd  and  calumnious  fable  that 
has  so  long  been  gathering  around  Mohammed's  name." — Retrospective 
Review  (vol.  iii.  p.  i). 


CHAPTER   I 

THE    MOSLEM    CONCEPTION    OF    GOD 

"In  the  name  of  God,  the  Compassionate,  the  Merciful. 
Praise  be  to  God,  Lord  of  the  Worlds  ! 
The  Compassionate,  the  Merciful ! 
King  of  the  Day  of  Judgment ! 

Thee  only  do  we  worship,  and  to  Thee  do  we  cry  for  help  ! 
Guide  Thou  us  on  the  right  path  ! 
The  path  of  those  for  whom  thy  Love  is  great ! 
Nor  of  those  with  whom  Thou  art  angered,  nor  of  those  who  go 
astray  !  "  The  opening  Sura  of  the  Koran. 

IT  is  astonishing  to  note  the  facility  with  which  the 
opposing  critics  of  Islam  will  define  for  the  Western 
world  the  Moslem  conception  of  God,  with  little  or 
no  reference  to  the  life  of  the  people  themselves,  who 
most  earnestly  worship  Him,  or  to  the  teaching  of  their 
devoutest  leaders.  Such  missionary  writers  as  I  have 
previously  mentioned  (Mr.  Samuel  M.  Zwemer  and 
the  Rev.  W.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  particularly)  will  go  to 
every  authority  who  has  had  a  damaging  estimate  to 
expound,  to  pile  up  the  details  of  their  own  terrible 
indictments ;  if  they  find  a  favourable  word  in  Western 
criticism  they  will  immediately  oppose  it  with  a  "  cor- 
rective." Mr.  Zwemer  actually  does  this  in  Islam  : 
a  Challenge  to  Faith.  If  the  words  of  the  Koran  or  of  the 
companions  of  the  Prophet,  contradict  their  assertions, 
they  will  turn  to  some  mean  tradition  of  Islam  to 
explain  away  this  contradiction,  or  will  boldly  assert 
that  it  is  unorthodox  !  (Note  i.  These  notes  are  to 


059 


26o        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

be  found  at  the  end  of  the  volume.)  These  critics 
will  even  make  it  a  complaint  that  the  Moslem  faith, 
grounded  as  it  is  on  the  call  to  the  worship  of  One  God — 

"  He  is  God  alone  : 
God  the  Eternal ! 

He  begetteth  not,  and  He  is  not  begotten, 
And  there  is  none  like  unto  Him"  (Sura  cxii.). 

is  to  be  condemned  because,  among  the  hundred 
"  excellent  names "  of  God,  which  the  Moslem  recites 
with  reverence,  "  the  name  of  Father  does  not  occur  " 
(Religion  of  the  Crescent,  p.  55).  Can  the  spirit  of 
perversity  go  beyond  this  ? 

It  is  not  surprising  that  when  we  come  to  definite 
statements  about  Islam,  we  find  ourselves  confronted 
with  a  cruel  fiction,  which  any  real  acquaintance  with 
the  people  about  whom  it  is  written  will  at  once  (as  it 
did  in  my  own  case)  contradict.  Of  infinite  holiness 
and  of  infinite  love  Mohammed  had  no  idea  whatever  : 
so  Allah  is  defective  in  holiness  and  love.  But  He  is 
an  arbitrary  Oriental  despot,  who  makes  His  enemies 
experience  His  wrath  in  a  terrible  manner,  and  loads 
His  faithful  servants  with  benefits,  while  winking  at 
their  misdeeds.  The  Christian  truth  that  "  God  is 
Love  "  is  to  the  learned  Moslem  blasphemy,  and  to 
the  ignorant  an  enigma.  Thus  and  thus — I  quote  the 
very  words  in  which  the  picture  is  drawn. 

And  the  people  of  the  West  are  asked  to  go  on 
believing,  as  they  always  have  believed,  "  because  they 
would,"  that  it  is  such  a  God  as  this  who  inspires  the 
passionate  adoration  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  mankind, 
and  who  is  worshipped  five  times  a  day  with  a  con- 
centration of  fervour  and  an  exaltation  of  praise,  the 
secret  of  which  the  Christian  world  has  yet  to  learn. 

It  is  an  instructive  thing  simply  to  turn  to  these 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM     261 

excellent  names  of  God,  on  which  the  Moslem  loves  to 
dwell.  I  will  give  some  of  those  which  seem  to  have 
been  obscured  for  Western  readers  : — 

ar-Ra'bman,  the  Merciful.  al-Barr,  Righteousness. 
ar-Ra'him,  the  Compassionate.  at-Tawwab,  the  Relenting. 
al-Qaddus,  the  Holy.  al-'Hafu,  the  Pardoner. 
as-Salam,  Peace.  ar-Ra'uf,  the  Kind. 
al-Ghafur,  the  Forgiving.  an-Nur,  Light. 
al-Ghaffar,  the  Forgiver.  al-Hadi,  the  Guide. 
al-Karim,  the  Generous.  al-Baqi,  the  Enduring. 
al-Mugib,     the    Answerer  of             ar-Rasid,    the    Rightly-Direct- 
Prayer,  ing. 
al-Wadud,  the  Loving.  az-Zabur,  the  Patient. 

A  man  once  came  before  the  Prophet  with  a  towel 
in  his  hand  and  said,  "  O  Prophet !  I  passed  through 
a  wood,  and  heard  the  voices  of  young  birds ;  and  I 
took  them  and  wrapped  them  in  this  towel,  and  their 
mother  came  fluttering  round  my  head,  and  I  uncovered 
the  young,  and  the  mother  fell  down  upon  them  ;  then 
I  wrapped  them  up  again  ;  here  they  are  !  "  The 
Prophet  said,  "  Open  the  cloth  on  the  ground."  And 
then  the  mother  went  again  to  her  young,  and  the 
Prophet  said,  "  Do  you  wonder  at  the  affection  of  the 
mother  towards  her  young  ?  I  swear  by  Him  who 
hath  sent  me,  verily  God  is  more  loving  to  His  servants 
than  the  mother  to  these  young  birds.  Return  them 
to  their  place,  so  that  the  mother  may  have  them." 

Truly  there  is  in  this  conception  of  God  "  the 
gentleness  and  the  love  that  belongs  only  to  great 
strength."  Nearly  every  sura  of  the  Koran  is  given 
in  the  name  of  the  Compassionate  and  Merciful  God  ; 
that  He  is  the  Very  Forgiving  was  the  constant  theme 
of  the  Prophet's  talk.  Is  not  God  the  indulgent,  the 
forgiver  of  sins,  the  merciful  ?  (Sura  xlii.  3)  he  asks. 
Your  prayer  to  Him  shall  be — Grant  us  Thy  pardon, 
O  Lord  !  For  to  Thee  our  journey  tends.  God,  who 


262        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

will  not  burden  any  soul  beyond  its  power,  punish  us  not 
if  we  forget  or  fall  into  sin,  O  our  Lord  !  And  lay  not  on 
us  that  for  which  we  have  not  strength,  but  forgive  us, 
and  spare  us,  and  have  pity  on  us  (Sura  ii.  285-6). 

I  do  not  wonder  that  the  Moslem  sees  in  the  appeal 
of  the  Koran  the  voice  of  "  the  Heavenly  Father  calling 
back  through  His  servant  His  erring  children  "  (Syed 
Ameer  Ali,  M.A.).  Indeed,  in  this  sense  the  word 
"  Father  "  is  not  absent  even  from  the  stories  told  of 
the  Prophet  himself.  In  the  story  of  the  heavenly 
vision  which  Mohammed  had,  he  saw  in  the  first  heaven 
two  doors ;  the  angel  Gabriel  told  him  that  the  one  door 
led  to  Paradise  and  the  other  to  Hades,  and  that  "  the 
Father  of  mankind  r ej  oiced  over  those  who  were  saved,  and 
wept  over  those  of  His  children  who  were  lost  "  (Note  2). 

But,  says  the  modern  critic  in  the  usual  vein,  the 
Moslem  conception  of  God  never  comes  near  that  of 
an  all-pitying  Father.  It  is  rather  the  "  mercy  "  of  an 
autocrat,  who  spares  a  few  from  the  general  destruction, 
for  motives  no  more  intelligible  than  those  for  which 
Caliban  spared  some  of  the  land-crabs  in  Browning's 
notable  poem  (The  Reproach  of  Islam,  p.  134). 

In  the  many  talks  with  the  chief  sheikhs  of  Islam 
which  I  had  on  this  subject,  as  also  with  Egyptians 
who  love  their  religion  no  less  because  they  have 
not  been  specially  trained  as  the  sheikhs  have  in  all  its 
lore,  I  always  found  that  all  such  dogmatic  statements 
as  these  did  them  far  less  than  justice.  In  every  case 
the  conception  of  God,  as  expressed  by  the  Moslems 
themselves,  is  greater — sometimes  infinitely  so — than 
any  such  narrow  deductions  suggest. 

As  one  authority  said  to  me :  "  If  Mr.  Gairdner's 
statements  fairly  represent  us,  Islam  never  could  have 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    263 

gained  any  considerable  hold  over  the  hearts  of  vast 
numbers  of  men  ;  and  certainly,  under  modern  con- 
ditions of  declining  political  power,  could  not  maintain 
its  hold.  And  if  a  Moslem,  looking  over  the  Christian 
world,  and  taking  note  of  all  its  conflicting  ideas  of  God, 
which  embrace  almost  every  doctrine  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Gairdner  as  belonging  to  the  Moslem  conception 
of  Allah,  were  to  write  in  the  same  strain  of  modern 
Christianity,  that  would  be  as  unjust  and  as  painful  to 
the  professors  of  your  faith  as  these  writings  are  to  us." 

I  think  of  the  good  Sheikh  Yussef,  of  Luxor,  who 
was  made  quite  miserable  by  some  Christians  telling 
him  of  the  doctrine  that  all  infants  who  died  unbaptized 
went  to  eternal  fire  ;  and  as  he  knew  that  Lady  Duff 
Gordon  had  lost  a  very  young  child,  it  weighed  on  his 
mind  that  perhaps  she  fretted  about  this  ;  and  so  he  said 
he  could  not  refrain  from  trying  to  convince  her — the 
only  interference  with  her  religious  opinions  he  ever 
attempted — that  God  was  not  so  cruel  and  unjust  as 
the  Nazarene  priests  represented  Him,  and  that  all 
infants  whatsoever,  as  well  as  all  ignorant  persons,  were 
to  be  saved.  "  Would  that  I  could  take  the  cruel 
error  out  of  the  minds  of  all  the  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  poor  Christian  mothers  who  must  be  tortured  by  it," 
said  he,  "  and  let  them  understand  that  their  dead 
babies  are  with  Him  who  sent  and  who  took  them." 

By  no  possibility  could  the  conception  of  God,  as 
it  is  represented  by  such  missionary  writers  as  I  have 
mentioned,  ever  lead  to  the  saintly  life  ;  to  such  spiritual 
longing  after  God  as  that  of  the  mystics  of  Islam,  whose 
love  for  God  became  a  rapture — with  no  more  of  the 
faults  arising  from  the  cultivation  of  ecstasy  than 
Christian  mystics  have  shown. 


264        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

And  this  seeking  after  a  religion  of  the  heart,  which 
we  call  mysticism — which  has  always  flourished,  par- 
ticularly in  Egypt — is  not,  as  a  recent  writer  has  shown, 
a  late  importation  into  Islam,  or  an  alien  element  in 
it,  drawn  from  Christian  Neoplatonic  and  Buddhist 
sources,  but  its  roots,  he  believes,  are  to  be  found  in 
the  life  of  the  Prophet,  and  in  the  Koran  itself.  When 
the  Arabs  saw  Mohammed's  fasting  and  meditation 
they  used  to  say,  "  He  is  in  love  with  his  maker  " ;  his 
sense  of  the  "  fear  of  the  Lord  "  was  so  intense  that 
he  always  averred  that  it  (and  the  wrestling  with  the 
revelation  of  his  message)  turned  his  hair  prematurely 
white.  That  strange  allegorical  verse  in  the  Koran  is 
quoted  as  an  instance  of  earliest  mysticism. 

"  God  is  the  Light  of  the  Heavens  and  of  the 
Earth.  His  Light  is  like  a  niche  in  which  is  a  lamp 
— the  lamp  encased  in  glass — the  glass,  as  it  were,  a 
glistening  star.  It  is  lighted  with  the  oil  of  a  blessed 
tree,  the  olive  neither  of  the  East  nor  of  the  West,  the 
oil  of  which  would  well-nigh  give  light  though  no  fire 
touched  it.  It  is  light  upon  light  !  "  (Sura  xxiv.  35). 

Some  of  the  first  commentators,  with  mystical 
longings,  declared  that  this  light  was  God's  illuminating 
grace  in  the  heart  of  man.  And  there  is  evidence  in 
the  teaching  of  the  Prophet  that  he  realised  that, 
answering  to  the  love  of  God  in  the  heart,  must  also 
be  a  love  to  man.  "  Do  you  love  your  Creator  ?  Love 
your  fellow-beings  first "  is  one  of  the  traditional  sayings. 
"  Do  you  wish  to  approach  the  Lord  ?  Love  His 
creatures."  Another  saying  of  the  Prophet's  was, 
"  That  man,  who  is  most  considerate  of  his  kind,  is 
the  favourite  of  God."  "  How  do  you  think  God  will 
know  you  when  you  are  in  His  Presence  ?  By  your  love 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    265 

of  your  children,  of  your  kin,  of  your  neighbours,  of 
your  fellow-creatures !  "  In  a  recent  statement  of 
Moslem  doctrine  by  the  Sheikh  el-Islam  he  says :  "  Man 
was  created  to  adore  his  Maker.  This  adoration  may 
be  summed  up  in  two  words — to  honour  the  commands 
of  God,  and  to  sympathise  with  His  creatures." 

The  Koran  constantly  asserts  that  Islam  is  the 
religion  of  Abraham.  "  We  have  revealed  to  thee  that 
thou  follow  the  religion — or  word — of  Abraham,  the 
sound  in  faith  "  (Sura  xvi.  124).  This  "word"  which 
Abraham  proclaimed  teaches  (according  to  the  Jewish 
book  Haggadah),  first  of  all,  the  existence  of  one  God, 
the  Creator  of  the  Universe,  who  rules  this  Universe 
with  mercy  and  loving-kindness.  He  alone  guides  the 
destinies  of  man.  Idolatry,  even  when  combined  with 
the  belief  in  Him,  is  utterly  to  be  abhorred.  He  alone 
is  to  be  worshipped  ;  in  Him  alone  trust  is  to  be  placed 
in  adversity.  He  frees  the  persecuted  and  oppressed. 
You  must  pray  to  Him,  and  serve  Him  in  love,  and 
not  murmur  when  He  asks  for  your  lives,  or  even  for 
lives  still  dearer  to  you  than  your  own.  As  to  duties 
towards  man,  "  Loving-kindness  and  mercy  are  the 
tokens  of  the  faith  of  Abraham  " — mercy,  charity,  love, 
are  to  be  extended  to  every  being,  without  reference 
to  garment,  birth,  rank,  creed,  or  nationality. 

That  great  mystic  poem  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
the  Masnavi,  is  a  song  of  love,  such  love  as  enables 
a  man  to  penetrate  the  divine  purposes ;  love,  the 
"  astrolabe  of  heavenly  mysteries,"  the  miraculous 
touch  to  the  eye,  which  opens  it  to  the  spiritual  life, 
which  gives  it  clairvoyant  power  to  pierce  the  veil. 
This  love  dwells  entirely  on  the  Fatherhood  of  God, 
and  will  have  no  belief  in  any  attributes  of  terror,  of 


266        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

compulsion,  or  predestination,  or  any  seeming  anomalies 
in  the  divine  government,  which  perplexed  Job,  the 
Ecclesiast,  and  endless  later  theologians.  This  poem, 
Masnavi  I  Ma?  Navi,  the  spiritual  couplets  of  Moham- 
med Rumi,  preceded  the  Divina  Commedia  of  Dante 
by  fifty  years.  As  the  one  poem  by  general  consent 
is  called  divine,  so  the  Moslem  couplets  are  always 
termed  spiritual ;  by  some  it  is  called  "  The  Amulet  of 
the  Soul." 

The  poem  approaches  every  question  through  the 
writer's  love  of  God.  And  this  conception  certainly 
included  some  part  of  what  St.  John  and  St.  Paul  meant 
by  love,  as  the  scholar  who  translated  the  poem  into 
English  avers.  And  it  included  mutual  charity,  the  love 
of  fellow-men,  though  of  course  it  did  not  amount  to 
that  universal  charity,  that  "  enthusiasm  of  humanity," 
which  possessed  St  Francis,  and  impelled  him  to  spend 
and  be  spent  for  the  good  of  the  poor  and  outcast. 
But  the  Moslem  poet,  nevertheless,  as  regards  love  to 
man,  enjoins  the  practice  of  meekness,  patience,  kindness, 
tolerance,  in  fact,  of  all  the  virtues  classed  by  St.  Paul 
as  "  charity,"  and  constituting  the  "  Christian  temper," 
though,  by  the  way,  that  temper  is  hardly  confined  to 
Christians. 

God  judges  not  as  men  judge,  from  outward  conduct, 
but  looks  at  the  heart,  the  secret  motives,  the  "  aspira- 
tion." Hence  forms  and  rites  are  of  little  importance  ; 
even  the  words  in  which  a  man  expresses  his  devotion 
are  quite  immaterial  so  long  as  a  worshipper  is  inspired 
by  the  love  of  God.  Man  is  not  saved  by  "  naming 
the  Divine  names "  with  orthodox  accuracy,  or  by 
worshipping  with  "  fair  rites,"  but  by  heartfelt  love 
and  earnest  endeavour  to  please  God.  Those  who 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    267 

worship  Him  in  spirit,  these  the  Father  seeks,  no  matter 
in  what  place  they  may  have  uttered  their  prayer. 
"  Fools  exalt  the  mosque,"  says  the  Moslem  poet,  "  and 
ignore  the  true  temple  in  the  heart."  As  Rumi  wrote 
of  the  Pilgrimage,  "  The  essential  Kaaba  is  the  heart." 
And- 

"  When  God  ordained  the  pilgrim  rite,  that  sign 
Was  meant  to  lead  thy  thoughts  to  things  divine  ; 
A  thousand  times  he  treads  that  round  in  vain 
Who  gives  one  human  heart  a  needless  pain." 

It  is  interesting  to  turn  from  the  mystics  to  the 
preachers  and  the  theologians.  Here  is  an  instance,  casu- 
ally chosen,  from  a  series  of  discourses  by  Ghazzali : — 

Abu'l-Darda  asked  Ka'b  (an  early  authority  on  the 
Bible)  what  was  the  most  special  text — in  the  Old 
Testament. 

He  replied :  "  God  says :  The  desire  of  the  pious 
has  lasted  long,  and  I  am  yet  more  desirous  of  meeting 
them.  And  side  by  side  with  this  text  is  written  : 
Whoso  seeketh  Me  shall  find  Me,  whereas  whoso  seeketh 
aught  else  shall  not  find  Me." 

Abu'l-Darda  said  :  "  I  testify  that  I  heard  the 
Prophet  say  the  same.  In  the  history  of  David  it  is 
written  :  God  said  unto  David — Tell  the  people  of  the 
world  that  I  am  the  Friend  of  him  that  loveth  Me, 
and  the  companion  of  him  that  sitteth  with  Me,  and 
the  Cheerer  of  him  that  cheereth  himself  with  mention 
of  Me,  and  the  Associate  of  him  that  consorteth  with 
Me,  the  Chooser  of  him  that  chooseth  Me,  and  obedient 
to  him  that  obeyeth  Me.  No  man  loveth  Me — and 
I  certainly  know  this  from  his  heart — but  I  accept  him 
unto  Myself,  and  love  him  with  a  love  wherein  he  is 
surpassed  by  none  of  My  creatures.  Whoso  seeketh 
Me  truly  shall  find  Me,  and  whoso  seeketh  aught  else 
shall  not  find  Me.  Ye  people  of  the  world,  discard  its 
vanities,  and  come  unto  Mine  honour  and  companion- 


268         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

ship  and  association.     Consort  with  Me,  and  I  will  con- 
sort with  you,  and  hasten  to  love  you." 

It  is  at  this  point  that  a  Christian  critic  should 
admit  that  the  Allah  of  the  Koran  is  precisely  the 
Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament,  a  divine  King  of  kings, 
dwelling  in  the  highest  heaven,  a  God  of  goodness  and 
severity,  of  mercy  and  of  vengeance,  who  rules  the 
world  with  almighty  and  irresistible  power,  but  which 
can  yet  inspire  the  poet's  heart  with  tenderest  yearning 
— like  as  the  hart  desireth  the  water-brooks,  so  longeth 
my  soul  after  Thee,  O  God.  And  it  was  here  that 
Mohammed  could  say  to  the  Jews,  to  whom  the  earliest 
inspired  word  of  God  had  been  sent,  "  Our  God  and 
your  God  is  one  "  (Sura  xxix.  45). 

In  one  of  the  traditions  of  Mohammed,  God  is 
represented  as  saying  at  the  Judgment,  "  O  ye  sons  of 
men  I  was  hungry  and  ye  gave  Me  no  food,"  the  whole 
passage  being  in  the  words  of  St.  Matthew  xxv.,  a  con- 
ception of  the  Judge  which  can  in  no  way  be  reconciled 
with  that  of  a  despot. 

When  the  great  missionary,  Henry  Martyn,  reached 
Shiraz,  in  1811,  he  found  the  Moslems  of  the  Sufi  sect 
there  eager  to  listen  to  his  message.  "  These  Sufis,"  he 
wrote  in  his  diary,  "  are  quite  the  Methodists  of  the 
East.  They  delight  in  everything  Christian  except 
being  exclusive.  They  consider  that  all  will  finally 
return  to  God,  from  whom  they  emanated." 

In  the  opinion  of  A.  von  Kremer,  the  mysticism  of 
Islam  and  Christendom  have  many  points  of  contact, 
and  by  mysticism  perhaps  will  be  first  bridged  the  wide 
gulf  which  separates  Islam  from  Christendom,  and 
thereby  from  modern  civilisation. 

Another  missionary — D.  M.  Thornton,  a  man  who 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM     269 

had  some  affinity  to  Raymond  Lull  and  Henry  Martyn 
in  this  field  of  work — writing  in  Egypt,  in  1907,  said : 
"As  is  so  often  the  case,  I  found  the  leading  Moslems 
were  more  anxious  to  know  our  message  than  the 
timorous  Christians." 

Should  it  not  be  admitted  that,  whether  in  Christian 
lands  or  Moslem,  man's  conception  of  God  is  always 
greater,  as  God  Himself  is,  than  the  creeds  in  which 
theologians  have  sought  to  circumscribe  Him.  Mo- 
hammed rose  above  his  own  restrictions  of  creed. 
Although  he  taught  that  the  Moslem  may  only  pray 
for  believers,  he  himself  prayed  for  the  soul  of  Zaid, 
who  had  always  resisted  conversion  to  Islam.  The 
injustice  is  for  men  of  differing  creeds  to  put  a  certain 
narrow  interpretation  on  the  beliefs  of  other  men, 
setting  a  limit  of  their  own  devising  to  the  possibilities 
of  spiritual  experience  of  millions  of  their  fellow- 
creatures. 

The  author  of  The  Reproach  of  Islam  himself  has  a 
certain  realisation  of  this,  as  all  good  men  must  have. 
"  Men  are  not,"  he  says,  "  so  mad  as  their  logic  ;  and 
the  well-disposed  Moslem  often  has  real  love  for 
righteousness,  and  that  love  may  even  be  intenser  because 
it  is  the  declared  will  of  Allah."  But  he  must  needs 
add :  "  But  there  is  no  real  understanding  of  holiness, 
or  of  sin  in  themselves."  In  a  word,  declares  that 
other  missionary  critic,  whose  inherent  unfairness  never 
fails,  "  Mohammedanism  as  a  religion  ...  is  utterly 
and  hopelessly  unfitted  to  quench  the  thirst  for  the 
knowledge  of  God,  which  .  .  .  asserts  itself  in  some 
degree  in  the  breasts  of  all  men  worthy  of  the  name  " 
(Note  3).  But  even  this  is  not  so  objectionable  in  its 
manner  of  statement,  and  its  terrible  suggestion,  as  are 


270        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  following  words  :  "  Point  by  point,  each  truth  of 
Christianity,  steeped  through  and  through  with  the 
tenderness  of  the  love  of  God,  is  negated  with  abhorrence 
by  Islam — the  Fatherhood  of  God,  the  Sonship  and 
Incarnation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  ...  of  sin  condemned  and  sin  forgiven  .  .  . 
each  several  truth  of  these  truths  is  a  blasphemy  in  the 
eyes  of  every  Moslem,  a  lie  which  Islam  came  expressly 
to  blast,  taught  by  a  Book  which  the  Koran  came 
expressly  to  replace  "  (Note  4). 

I  will  end  this  chapter  on  the  Moslem  conception 
of  God  with  one  of  the  traditional  prayers  of  the 
Prophet,  and  some  expressions  from  the  prayers  of  Ali, 
his  son-in-law.  The  Prophet  once  prayed :  "  O  Lord, 
grant  me  the  love  of  Thee  ;  grant  that  I  may  love 
those  that  love  Thee ;  grant  that  I  may  do  the  deeds 
that  may  win  thy  love ;  make  thy  love  to  be  dearer  to 
me  than  self,  family,  or  than  wealth." 

Ali,  the  Caliph,  gave  thanks :  "  To  my  Lord :  He 
the  adorable  and  only  to  be  adored  .  .  .  the  Cherisher, 
whose  majesty  and  might  overshadowed  the  universe. 
.  .  .  Thou  art  the  adored,  my  Lord;  Thou  art  the 
Master,  the  loving  and  forgiving  ;  .  .  .  Thy  mercy  and 
forgiveness  are  all  embracing.  .  .  .  Thou  art  the  helper 
of  the  afflicted,  the  reliever  of  all  distress,  the  consoler 
of  the  broken-hearted.  Thou  art  the  friend  of  the 
poor  ;  my  Lord,  Thou  art  my  fortress ;  a  castle  for 
all  who  seek  Thee.  Thou  art  the  refuge  of  the  weak ; 
the  helper  of  the  pure  and  true.  .  .  .  Thou  art  the 
forgiver,  I  am  the  sinner  ;  Thou,  my  Lord,  art  the 
merciful,  all-knowing,  all-loving ;  I  am  groping  in 
the  dark  ;  I  seek  Thy  knowledge  and  love  ;  bestow, 
my  Lord,  all  Thy  knowledge  and  love  and  mercy." 


CHAPTER   II 

WHAT   DO    THE    MOSLEMS  THINK   OF   SIN    AND    OF  PRAYER  ? 

"  Mohammed's  system  contains  a  great  deal  of  pure  Christianity. 
It  enforces  the  virtues  of  charity,  temperance,  justice,  and  fidelity,  in 
the  strongest  manner  ;  it  prohibits  extortion,  and  all  kinds  of  cruelty, 
even  to  brutes  ;  and  it  binds  its  votaries  to  the  strictest  regularity,  order, 
and  devotion."  Dr.  Zouch. 

I  SUPPOSE  that  no  man  who  has  seen  the  Moslem  at 
prayer  has  failed  altogether  of  the  feeling  that  he  was 
in  the  presence  of  an  intensely  sincere  expression  of 
the  human  heart  towards  the  Deity,  which  is  almost 
entirely  absent  from  the  worship  of  the  West.  For 
my  part  I  can  never  forget  the  prayers  of  Islam,  as  I 
have  seen  its  votaries  perform  them,  whether  in  the 
many  different  mosques,  or  under  the  blue  skies  of  the 
remote  desert  "  in  temples  not  made  with  hands." 

I  have  seen  a  thousand  men  gathering  in  little  groups 
of  friends,  two  or  three  in  company,  from  distant  oases, 
coming  together  in  the  desert  with  the  ardent  absorp- 
tion which  seemed  to  remove  them  from  a  consideration 
of  ordinary  affairs  of  life  ;  an  absorption  which  possessed 
them  from  the  moment  they  left  their  homes,  with  a 
Koranic  chant  on  their  lips,  until  the  last  obeisance 
of  the  great  prayer  was  finished.  Led  in  their  devotions 
by  an  old  man  whose  saintly  and  selfless  life  was  known 
to  all,  the  deep  hymn  of  their  concerted  praise  to  the 
One  God  went  up  to  heaven  in  a  single  compelling  note. 

In  whatever  the  writings  of  travellers  and  others  have 


271 


272         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

differed,  the  devoutness  of  the  Muslim  congregation  at 
prayer  is  acknowledged — from  Morocco  to  Mecca,  from 
Constantinople  to  Calcutta.  How  many  observers 
speak  of  these  prayers,  with  their  concentration  of  mind, 
and  their  lowly  attitudes,  and  the  fervid  sighing  of  the 
worshippers,  manifesting  throughout  the  most  profound 
reverence  and  veneration,  and  a  complete  absorption  in 
the  adoration  of  God.  The  noble  simplicity  of  the 
mosque,  and  the  absence  of  distracting  adornment, 
creates  a  harmony  of  spirit  which  is  deeply  impressive. 
A  notable  exception  to  such  writers  is  the  Rev.  St.  Clair- 
Tisdall,  who,  though  obliged  to  confess  to  being  im- 
pressed by  the  sight,  will  only  speak  of  the  Moslems  at 
worship  as  "  apparently  devout." 

It  was  a  Christian  agent  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  who  once  ventured  to  report :  "  Much  has 
been  said  in  defence  of  pompous  and  splendid  forms 
of  worship,  and  many  have  insisted  on  their  absolute 
necessity  in  order  to  interest  the  vulgar  ;  but  I  will 
venture  to  affirm  that  all  the  dazzling  splendour  of  ex- 
ternal ceremonies,  superadded  to  the  Christian  system, 
never  produced  a  solemnity  to  be  compared  with  that 
resulting  from  the  simple  adoration  here  exhibited  in 
the  Mohammedan  mosque.  Every  sense  seemed  closed 
against  earthly  objects,  and  a  high  degree  of  self-anni- 
hilation appeared  to  inspire  the  mind  of  every  worshipper. 
How  humbling  the  reflection,  that  so  little  real  devotion, 
and  so  feeble  a  sense  of  the  presence  of  the  great  Jehovah, 
is  often  to  be  found  in  assemblies  professing  to  worship 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

"  God  is  most  high.  .  .  .  There  is  no  God  but 
God.     To  God  be  praise. 


S 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    273 

"  Holiness  to  Thee,  O  God,  and  praise  be  to 

Thee. 
"  Great  is  Thy  name,  great  is  Thy  greatness, 

there  is  no  God  but  Thee. 
"  Praised  be    my  Lord,    the  exalted  One,   and 

glory  be  to  Him. 

"  May  God  hear  him  who  praises  Him. 
"  Praise  be  to  Thee  the  fulness  of  the  heaven 

and  earth. 
"  God  is  great.     Praise  be  to  Thee,  O  my  Lord, 

the  most  high. 
"  O  Lord,  forgive  me  and  have  mercy  upon  me, 

and  grant  me  my  portion,  and  guide  me." 

Such  are  the  words  accompanying  the  ritual  of 
prayer. 

And  then  when  the  ritual  is  finished  and  the  full 
tribute  of  adoration  complete,  an  intense  silence  falls 
upon  these  men  as  they  raise  their  hands  to  their  breasts 
in  submitting  to  God  the  secret  supplications  of  their 
hearts;  the  hands  outstretched  as  a  sure  sign  of  faith 
that  God  will  give  what  they  ask ;  the  drawing  of  the 
hands  down  the  face  at  the  close  that  they  may  absorb 
the  immediate  blessing. 

As  an  imam  said,  in  a  sermon  on  prayer,  "  In  Namaz 
(secret  prayer)  we  ought  to  solemnly  realise  and  be  sen- 
sible of  the  fact  that  we  are  in  a  holy  atmosphere,  inhal- 
ing graces  and  sanctification."  What  would  one  not 
have  given  to  have  known  something  of  the  nature  of 
those  private  petitions  ? 

I  have  made  many  inquiries  on  this  delicate 
subject  of  the  theme  of  the  Muslim's  private  prayers. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  material  things  occupy  a  large 
place  in  them.  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread  !  " 
To  seek  refuge  with  God  against  the  troubles  and  fears 
18 


274        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

and  sorrows  of  life  is  a  prevailing  thought.  To  pray 
for  deliverance  from  impending  grief  is  as  natural 
to  these  people  as  though  any  idea  of  fatalism  had 
never  a  place  in  their  theology.  There  is  a  suggested 
prayer  of  need  ;  a  prayer  for  guidance  ;  a  prayer  of 
praise  ;  and  a  prayer  of  repentance,  although  to  ask 
forgiveness  is  included  in  all  the  other  prayers.  The 
Prophet  always  asked  forgiveness  of  sin  both  on  entering 
and  on  leaving  a  mosque,  and  a  leading  Moslem  asserts 
that  the  theme  of  all  prayers  is  "  always  self-humilia- 
tion, the  glorification  of  the  Giver  of  all  good,  and 
reliance  on  His  mercy."  That  was  a  beautiful  prayer 
of  the  Prophet  himself  which  has  been  handed  down  : — 

"  O  Lord !  I  supplicate  Thee  for  firmness  in  faith 
and  direction  towards  rectitude,  and  to  assist  me  in 
being  grateful  to  Thee,  and  in  adoring  Thee  in  every 
good  way  ;  and  I  supplicate  Thee  for  an  innocent  heart, 
which  shall  not  incline  to  wickedness ;  and  I  supplicate 
Thee  for  a  true  tongue,  and  for  that  virtue  which  Thou 
knowest,  and  for  forgiveness  of  those  faults  which  Thou 
knowest.  Oh  !  my  Defender  !  assist  me  in  remember- 
ing Thee,  and  being  grateful  to  Thee,  and  in  worshipping 
Thee  with  all  my  strength.  O  Lord  !  I  have  injured 
my  own  soul,  and  no  one  can  pardon  the  faults  of 
Thy  servants  but  Thou  ;  forgive  me  out  of  Thy  loving- 
kindness,  and  have  mercy  on  me ;  for,  verily,  Thou  art 
the  forgiver  of  offences,  and  the  bestower  of  blessings 
on  Thy  servants  "  (Miskat,  bk.  iv.). 

And  the  prayers  of  the  early  caliphs,  who  were  the 
leaders  of  prayer,  were  in  the  same  devotional  spirit. 
My  study  of  this  subject,  from  all  the  literature — 
including  the  Koran — bearing  upon  it,  and  from  the 
lives  and  practices  of  living  men,  convinces  me  that 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    275 

along  with  the  consciousness  of  human  dignity,  so  valued 
in  the  ancient  philosophies,  Islam  also  creates  in  a 
very  real  way  that  sense  of  human  sinfulness  which  the 
Christian  evangelist  has  always  encouraged. 

It  is  this  which  baffles  the  Western  observer,  and 
leads  some  men  to  think,  as  the  author  of  The  Garden 
of  Allah  does,  that  personal  pride,  like  blood  in  the 
body,  runs  through  all  the  veins  of  the  mind  of  Moham- 
medanism. ..."  Their  bodies  touched  the  stones 
.  .  .  they  seemed  as  if  they  wished  to  shrink  into  the 
space  occupied  by  a  grain  of  sand.  Yet  they  were  proud 
in  the  presence  of  Allah,  as  if  the  firmness  of  their 
belief  in  Him  and  His  right  dealing,  the  fury  of  their 
contempt  and  hatred  for  those  who  looked  not  towards 
Mecca,  nor  regarded  Rhamadan,  gave  them  a  patent 
of  nobility." 

A  picture  by  a  great  artist,  this,  of  the  very  scene 
which  I  saw  in  the  desert  outside  Biskra.  But  I  wonder 
if  Mr.  Hichens  knew,  as  I  did,  that  that  great  multitude 
of  men  whose  concerted  prayer  created  this  impression 
of  pride,  had  left  at  home  every  single  garment  that 
had  colour  or  decoration  of  any  sort,  and  every  other 
trace  of  personal  adornment,  clothing  themselves  in 
simplest  white,  as  a  sign  of  their  humility  before  God. 
And  some  of  them  were  of  great  rank  ;  and  who  can 
draw  such  pictures  of  the  splendour  of  the  Arab  Bach 
Agah,  or  Prince,  as  Mr.  Robert  Hichens  can  ? 

And  did  he  talk  with  friends  from  amongst  them,  as 
I  did,  when  the  prayer  was  over,  and  find  any  trace  of 
hatred  or  pride  ?  On  the  very  evening  of  that  Grande 
Priere,  an  Arab  friend,  his  simple  white  changed  for  a 
costume  gorgeous  in  its  colour  and  its  gold  embroideries, 
took  a  meal  with  my  wife  and  me  at  our  hotel ;  and  a 


276        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

gentler  or  more  genially  friendly  guest  it  would  be 
impossible  to  have  in  any  land.  And  I  have  heard  these 
proud  Arabs  refer  to  Mr.  Hichens  himself  in  such  terms 
of  affection  as  would  throw  his  word-picture  out  of 
perspective,  if  he  could  sacrifice  his  artistic  sense  so 
much  for  justice  (Note  5). 

But  to  turn  from  the  literary  artist,  there  is  the 
verdict  of  authors  who  look  upon  these  men  of  Islam 
with  the  eyes  of  the  Christian  worker  for  their  conver- 
sion. The  Rev.  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner  sees  "  the  cringing 
manners,  the  sensuality,  the  childishness,  the  down- 
right vulgarity,  that  may  inwardly  characterise  yonder 
statuesque  individual."  "  Prayer,"  says  another  writer, 
"  is  reduced  to  a  mechanical  art.  There  is  no  real 
fellowship  with  God.  The  Moslem  conception  of  God 
itself  forbids  this  "  (the  author  of  Egypt  and  the  Christian 
Crusade). 

Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  admits  that  the  scene  presented 
in  the  mosques  "  by  row  after  row  of  these  white-robed 
and  finely  turbaned  figures,  grave,  earnest,  and  appar- 
ently devout  ...  is  most  impressive,"  while  he  admits 
that  it  does  not  become  us  too  hastily  and  uncharitably 
to  judge  whether  his  seeming  devotion  is  or  is  not 
heartfelt.  And  he  thereupon  proceeds  to  prove  that 
the  tendency  is  for  the  great  mass  of  Moslems  to  become 
formalists.  "  In  the  whole  Koran,  and  in  the  whole 
Traditions,  I  do  not  know  of  a  single  passage  which 
teaches  that  prayer,  to  be  efficacious,  must  be  in  spirit 
and  in  truth,  nor  that  men  should,  or  even  could,  love 
God  as  well  as  fear  Him."  The  Koran,  Mr.  Zwemer 
says,  ever  keeps  the  supreme  question  of  salvation  from 
sin  in  the  background. 

For  my  part,  I  maintain  that  the  fear  of  God,  and 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    277 

the  love  of  God,  are  the  beginning  of  the  wisdom  of 
the  Moslem  East.  I  am  convinced  that  in  prayer,  of 
all  things,  these  people  are  sincere.  The  Prophet 
would  not  have  wept  with  the  fervour  of  his  emotions, 
as  a  hundred  witnesses  testify — if  his  prayers  had  lacked 
sincerity  and  truth,  any  more  than  the  obvious  spiritual 
exaltation  of  these  men  at  their  devotions  now  can  be 
solely  the  outcome  of  play-acting  or  mechanical  drill. 

When  the  fiercely  alert  Moslem  troops  burst  upon 
Egypt,  the  Romans  found  that  the  only  chance  of  taking 
them  at  an  advantage  was  during  their  prayers.  Prayers 
doubtless  that  were  in  the  spirit  of  that  fervid  petition  of 
the  Prophet  before  going  into  the  first  battle  of  Islam — 
"  O  Lord,  I  beseech  Thee  forget  not  Thy  promise  of 
assistance  and  of  victory.  O  Lord  !  if  this  little  band  be 
vanquished,  idolatry  will  prevail,  and  the  pure  worship 
of  Thee  cease  from  off  the  earth."  Prayers  that  were 
inspiring  as  those  which  the  Prophet  offered  in  the 
mosque,  on  his  last  visit  to  the  House  of  God,  when  men 
said,  "  The  Lord  verily  hath  this  day  granted  refresh- 
-ment  in  prayer." 

The  Roman  spies  had  reported,  "  We  have  seen  a 
people  who  prefer  death  to  life  and  humility  to  pride. 
They  sit  in  the  dust,  and  they  take  their  meals  on  horse- 
back. Their  commander  is  one  of  themselves,  there  is 
no  distinction  of  rank  among  them.  They  have  fixed 
hours  of  prayer,  first  washing  their  hands  and  feet ;  and 
they  pray  with  reverence." 

Indeed,  prayer  was  always  their  first  thought,  in  the 
hour  of  danger  and  in  the  hour  of  victory.  Could  they 
forget  how,  not  many  years  before,  the  troops  of  their 
Prophet,  having  prayed  on  that  momentous  night  before 
he  battle  of  Badr,  got  peace  of  mind,  and  God  sent 


278         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

"sleep,  a  sign  of  security  from  Him"  (Sura  viii.  11), 
while  their  enemies  were  kept  awake  all  night  by  fear. 
Or  could  they  forget  that  when  the  enemy  at  the  battle 
of  Uhud  was  in  sight,  the  Prophet  still  went  on  with  his 
usual  morning  prayer. 

When  Omar  received  the  news  of  the  submission  of 
Egypt,  he  went  back  at  once  to  the  mosque  and  led  the 
prayers.  The  very  place  where  Amr  had  put  up  his 
standard,  or  tent,  outside  old  Cairo,  must  be  the  place 
of  prayer,  to  be  turned  into  a  mosque  in  the  early  days 
of  victory,  for  a  mosque  was  their  first  necessity.  The 
mosque  of  Amr,  the  oldest  mosque  in  Egypt,  stands 
there  to  this  day  to  mark  the  spot.  These  are  not  the 
acts  of  formalists. 

If  any  reader  would  see  how  far  the  criticism  of  a 
Western  writer  can  go  in  putting  the  most  adverse  inter- 
pretation on  every  detail  of  the  teaching  and  observance 
of  a  religion  to  which  he  is  opposed,  I  would  direct  him  to 
the  chapter  on  "Ritual,"  in  Islam:  a  Challenge  to  Faith, 
by  Samuel  M.  Zwemer.  The  author  is  contemptuous  of 
the  ablutions,  going  to  all  the  absurd  early  writings  on 
the  subject,  in  which  the  theological  pedants  exaggerated 
details,  and  ignoring  all  those  spiritual  teachings  which 
so  clearly  laid  down  that  the  washings  were  for  the  heart. 
"  In  practice  moral  ^unty  as  a  preparation  for  prayer  is 
never  alluded  to,  nor  does  the  Koran  allude  to  it,"he  says. 

Let  us  eschew  detached  texts — I  maintain  that  the  spirit 
of  the  Koran  is,  that  Piety  consists  in  the  Fear  of  God. 
As  for  moral  purity,  I  have  often  heard  the  instructions,  on 
the  subject  of  the  ablutions,  of  the  sheikhs  to  their  pupils 
— in  Al  Azar,  at  Tanta,  at  various  modern  schools  in 
Egypt,  and  always  the  theme  was — Cleanliness  is  good, 
for  health,  for  comfort,  for  decency.  "  The  practice 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM     279 

of  religion  is  founded  on  cleanliness,"  the  sheikh  would 
remind  them  that  the  Prophet  said,  and  so  Mohammed 
himself  was  always  scrupulously  clean.  "And,"  continued 
the  sheikh,  "it  is  right  and  fitting  that  when  you  come 
before  God,  you  should  be  as  clean  as  possible.  As  for 
the  manner  of  the  cleansing,  we  follow  the  example  of 
the  Prophet,"  and  here  the  sheikh  would  give  precise  ex- 
planations. "  But  all  this  cleansing  is  but  a  sign.  No 
sins  are  washed  away  with  water.  All  these  preparations 
must  lead  you  to  approach  God  with  a  clean  heart." 

The  hammam,  or  bath,  is  a  great  feature  in  all 
Moslem  towns  and  cities.  In  Biskra,  an  oasis  of  the 
Sahara  Desert,  I  found  no  less  than  six  large  public  baths. 
In  the  majority  of  continental  towns  of  the  same  size 
one  bath  would  be  a  rarity.  It  is  recorded  of  Cordova, 
that  in  the  height  of  her  glory,  under  Moslem  rule,  she 
had  nine  hundred  public  baths — a  reproach  and  wonder 
to  the  medieval  Christians,  with  whom  in  those  days,  and 
indeed  up  to  the  time  of  Philip  n.,  the  husband  of  our 
Queen  Mary,  dirt  was  typical  of  sanctity,  and  cleanliness 
the  mark  of  infidelity.  Nothing  is  more  remarkable 
than  the  sight  of  robust  Islam  bursting  into  a  Christian 
world  enfeebled  not  only  by  sectarian  strife,  but  by 
monastic  foolishness.  The  Coptic  monks,  for  instance 
(see  The  Book  of  Paradise),  were  practising  fasting  as  a 
sort  of  competitive  sport  between  the  different  monas- 
teries in  Egypt,  and  the  non-washing  of  their  bodies, 
with  an  idea  of  adding  sanctity  with  accumulating  dirt. 

At  Nasrieh  School,  in  Cairo,  especially,  I  was  struck 
with  the  reasonable  nature  of  the  teaching  given  to  the 
sons  of  the  influential  families  in  Egypt.  The  sheikh,  for 
instance,  explained  the  washing  and  care  of  the  hands, 
holding  up  his  own  beautiful  hands  to  show  how  no  dirt 


280        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

must  be  left  even  under  the  nails.  Then  he  illustrated 
the  washing  of  the  ears,  the  cleansing  of  the  passages  of 
the  nose,  the  scrupulous  cleaning  of  the  teeth  after  each 
meal.  Here  was  religion  and  hygiene,  cleanliness  and 
godliness,  in  fact,  in  one  lesson.  For  the  sheikh  knew 
how  important  all  this  cleansing  was  to  health  in  hot 
countries ;  and  he  gave  quotations  proving  that  these 
ideas  of  hygiene  were  clear  also  to  the  Prophet. 

In  the  same  way  I  certainly  think  that  as  Mohammed 
was  not  unaware  of  the  value  of  the  prostrations  in  prayer 
as  physical  exercises,  even  to  the  assistance  of  the  diges- 
tive functions,  so  he  also  knew  how  important  to  health 
the  ablutions  would  be  to  all  the  world  of  Islam.  He 
thought  it  a  divine  intention  that  holiness  should  be 
served  by  the  handmaiden  of  hygiene,  as  it  might  be 
imagined  Moses  did,  in  the  many  laws  he  instituted  in 
which  man  approached  God  by  ways  of  personal  cleanli- 
ness and  propriety.  The  first  great  thought  was  not 
the  physical  cleansing,  but  the  spiritual  preparation  for 
the  worship  of  the  Creator. 

The  great  theologian  Ghazzali  puts  the  whole 
matter  of  the  ablutions  in  this  way — There  are  four 
degrees  of  purification,  of  which  the  first  is,  the  cleans- 
ing of  the  body  from  all  pollution,  filth,  and  excrements  ; 
the  second  is  the  cleansing  of  the  members  of  the  body 
from  all  wickedness  and  unjust  actions  ;  the  third,  the 
cleansing  of  the  heart  from  all  blameable  inclinations 
and  odious  vices ;  and  the  fourth,  the  purging  a  man's 
secret  thoughts  from  all  affections  which  may  divert 
their  attendance  on  God ;  adding  that  the  body  is  but 
as  the  outward  shell  in  respect  to  the  heart,  which 
is  as  the  kernel.  And  for  this  reason  he  highly  com- 
plains of  those  who  are  superstitiously  solicitous  in 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    281 

exterior  purification,  avoiding  those  persons  as  unclean 
who  are  not  so  scrupulously  nice  as  themselves,  and 
at  the  same  time  have  their  own  minds  lying  waste 
and  overrun  with  pride,  ignorance,  and  hypocrisy. 
"  Whence  it  plainly  appears,"  remarks  Sale,  "  with  how 
little  foundation  the  Mohammedans  have  been  charged 
by  some  writers  with  teaching  or  imagining  that  these 
formal  washings  alone  cleanse  them  from  their  sins." 

Mr.  Zwemer  only  mentions  this  great  teacher  and 
theologian  of  early  Islam  by  name  once  in  his  book 
Islam.  But  he  quotes,  unconsciously,  I  imagine,  a 
number  of  damaging  details  from  one  of  his  works, 
especially  about  the  sensual  heaven.  Of  the  great 
wealth  of  inspiring  teaching  left  by  Ghazzali  he  says 
no  word,  notably  in  this  matter  of  the  ablutions,  but 
boldly  declares  that  no  mention  is  made  in  "  all  books 
of  practical  theology,"  of  moral  purity  as  a  preparation 
for  prayer.  A  great  authority  in  Cairo,  Sheikh  Rashid 
Rida,  editor  of  Al-Manar,  stated  to  me  that  it  was  when 
Ghazzali  was  old  and  doting  he  wrote  the  one  deplor- 
able book  which  has  been  made  so  much  of  by  writers 
like  Mr.  Zwemer,  but  which  is  repudiated  by  all  reason- 
able Moslems.  Abdul  Rahman  ibn  Ishag,  especially 
refuted  the  contents  of  this  work ;  but  reference  to  it 
appear  and  reappear  in  the  works  of  men  who  build  up 
theories  of  Islam  from  books  rather  than  from  experience 
and  life.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  fit  a  great  mass  of 
matter,  in  this  way,  into  a  preconceived  scheme, 
especially  in  matters  of  theology  and  morals. 

But  to  Mr.  Zwemer  the  details  of  the  instructions 
for  cleansing  are  "  puerile,"  especially  those  concerning 
the  cleaning  of  the  teeth.  Why  puerile  ?  Should  the 
term  be  applied  to  the  elaborate  teachings  of  Moses  in 


282         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  Book  of  Exodus,  which  often  go  into  the  minutest 
details  ?  The  splendid  teeth  of  nearly  all  Moslem 
people,  to  which  all  travellers  bear  admiring  testimony, 
are  a  sufficient  justification  of  the  simple  laws  to  which 
they  may  be  attributed.  I  can  see  nothing  puerile  in 
the  suggestion  that  the  mouth  shall  be  cleansed  for  the 
praise  of  God  ;  I  imagine  it  comes  from  the  same 
primitive  instinct  which  makes  the  Saturday  night 
"  tubbing "  such  a  universal  family  habit  with  the 
Christian  peasants  as  a  preparation  for  the  worship  of 
the  Sabbath. 

One  Arabic  historian,  Abu'l  Fida,  asserts  that  cere- 
monial washings  and  religious  cleansing  of  the  teeth 
were  practised  by  the  Arabs  before  Mohammed's  time. 
If  this  is  realised,  I  suggest  that  the  charge  of  puerility 
will  be  withdrawn,  in  the  attempts  that  are  being 
made  to  prove  that  it  was  from  the  "  days  of  ignor- 
ance "  that  everything  good  in  Islam  was  drawn. 

In  any  case,  it  comes  oddly  from  an  American,  especi- 
ally, to  see  puerility  in  the  care  of  the  teeth,  when  it 
is  America  that  has  led  the  way  to  a  scientific  dentistry. 
It  might  be  thought  a  remarkable,  and  a  worthy  thing, 
this  teaching,  insisted  upon  at  a  period  when  probably 
such  a  thing  as  a  tooth-brush  was  unknown  in  Britain. 

While  I  write  these  lines  a  "  health-week  "  is  being 
held  in  England,  and  from  the  lectures  by  medical 
experts  I  gather  that  in  thqir  opinion  the  mass  of  our 
people  still  have  no  idea  of  the  necessity  of  teeth-clean- 
ing. At  the  elementary  schools  we  are  just  beginning  to 
teach  the  children  of  the  poor  the  use  of  the  tooth-brush, 
encouraging  them  thereto  by  a  gift  of  the  brush  itself, 
at  the  State's  expense.  May  the  result  in  the  future  be 
such  teeth  as  I  have  seen  in  North  Africa,  in  Egypt, 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    283 

and  Nubia,  and  the  Sudan,  where  puerile  details,  learnt 
in  the  Koran  school,  have  taught  the  poorest  man  and 
woman,  living  even  in  tents  and  mud  huts,  the  inviolable 
habit  of  cleansing  the  teeth  after  every  meal. 

And  this  is  the  invocation  many  of  them  use — it  is 
not  compulsory,  as  all  the  ablutions  may  be  done  in 
silence,  or  a  simple  prayer  may  be  said — "  Vouchsafe, 
O  God,  as  I  clean  my  teeth,  to  purify  me  from  my 
faults,  and  accept  my  homage,  O  Lord.  May  the 
purity  of  my  teeth  be  a  sign  for  me  of  the  whiteness  of 
my  face  at  the  Day  of  Judgment." 

Moslems  use  the  miswak,  a  kind  of  tooth-brush 
made  of  fibrous  wood,  about  a  span  long;  they  will 
not,  of  course,  use  any  brush  made  of  pig's  bristles. 

As  for  the  teaching  of  the  Koran,  on  the  spiritual 
import  of  worship,  the  need  for  expiation,  and  the 
preparations  for  the  service  of  God,  its  plain  words  may 
speak  for  themselves  : — 

"  It  is  not  the  flesh  or  the  blood  of  that  which  ye 
sacrifice  which  is  acceptable  to  God  ;  it  is  your  piety 
which  is  acceptable  to  your  Lord  "  (Sura  xxii.  38). 

"  It  is  not  righteousness  that  ye  turn  your  faces  in 
prayer  towards  the  East  or  the  West ;  but  righteous- 
ness is  of  him  who  believeth  in  God  "  (Sura  ii.  172). 

"  The  East  and  the  West  is  God's ;  therefore,  which- 
ever way  ye  turn,  there  is  the  face  of  God  "  (Sura 
ii.  109). 

"  Piety  consists  in  the  fear  of  God  "  (Sura  ii.  185). 

"  Those  who,  after  they  have  done  a  base  deed,  or 
committed  a  wrong  against  their  own  selves,  remember 
God,  and  implore  forgiveness  of  their  sins — and  who  will 
forgive  sin  but  God  only  ? — and  persevere  not  in  what 
they  have  willingly  done  amiss.  As  for  them,  pardon 
from  their  Lord  shall  be  their  reward  "  (Sura  iii.  129-30). 


284        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

"  Such  portion  only  of  a  man's  devotion  is  acceptable 
to  God  as  he  offers  with  understanding  and  true  de- 
votional spirit,"  is  a  saying  of  the  Prophet  reported  by 
Abu  Daud  and  by  Nisai ;  and  Ali  said,  "  Neither  will 
profession  suffice  unless  it  produces  a  corresponding 
practice." 

And  so  again  and  again.  The  true  believer  must 
turn  to  God  with  repentance,  and  with  a  determina- 
tion to  mend  his  life.  He  must  "  believe  and  do  " 
(Sura  ii.  76).  The  first  words  he  utters,  in  a  low  voice, 
before  the  actual  prayer  begins,  are,  "  I  propose  to  offer 
to  God  with  a  sincere  heart  "  these  prayers. 

Supplication  to  be  effective  must  be  in  accordance 
with  certain  clear  conditions  ;  the  person  offering  them 
having  the  following  qualifications : — 

i.  He  must  be  living  on  what  he  has  honestly 

acquired, 
ii.  He  must  call  on  God  with  firm  faith  in  His 

help. 

iii.  His  heart  must  not  be  distracted, 
iv.  He  must  not  ask  what  is  wrong,  or  what  may 

injure  his  relatives,  or  any  Moslem, 
v.  He  must  not  ask  for  things  impossible. 

Here  are  the  full  and  exact  rules  to  be  observed 
when  offering  supplication  and  intercessions  : — 

i.  To  choose  the  proper  time. 

ii.  Before  offering  such  petitions,  to  perform  the 
ablutions  and  canonical  prayers,  to  turn 
to  the  Kibla,  lift  up  the  hands  towards 
heaven,  confess  sins,  repent,  praise  God, 
and  ask  for  blessings  on  the  Prophet,  at  the 
beginning,  the  middle,  and  the  conclusion. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    285 

True  repentance  comprises  the  following  : — 

i.  Forsaking  sin. 

ii.  Sorrow  for  having  committed  sin  against  God. 

iii.  Firm  purpose  never  to  return  to  sin. 

iv.  Making  amends,  on  obtaining  forgiveness,  if 
the  sin  has  been  committed  against  man 
who  has  been  injured  thereby. 

It  is  not  true  to  say,  "  expiation  of  sin  is  not  essential 
to  forgiveness,"  as  is  often  asserted. 

Of  God's  forgiveness  of  sin,  the  belief  is  full  and 
clear,  both  in  the  Koran  and  in  all  the  teachings  of 
tradition  and  authority.  It  is  even  believed  that  when 
a  bad  act  is  committed,  the  angel  of  the  bad  actions, 
who  is  always  at  the  left  hand  of  every  man,  asks  the 
angel  of  the  good  actions,  on  the  right,  whether  he  is 
to  write  it  down.  The  good  angel  orders  him  to  wait 
for  the  space  of  six  hours,  in  the  hope  that  the  sinner 
may  repent,  and  ask  for  pardon. 

"The  presence  of  trie  heart"  is  again  and  again 
insisted  on.  Ali  said  that  devotion  offered  without 
understanding  brought  no  blessing. 

As  for  the  consciousness  of  sin,  and  the  need  of  salva- 
tion from  it,  the  teaching  of  Islam  stands  also  clear, 
and  in  the  foreground. 

The  cry  for  forgiveness  is  in  every  prayer. 

"  Have  mercy,  O  God,  for  of  the  merciful  Thou  art 
best,"  is  the  Koranic  petition. 

The  first  passion  that  took  hold  of  Mohammed  was 
to  call  men  to  the  worship  of  the  One  God,  to  repent  of 
their  sins,  to  prepare  for  the  great  Day  of  Judgment. 
And  this  he  preached  also  to  himself — "  unless  God 
cover  me  with  His  mercy,"  he  said  to  Ayesha,  "  I  cannot 
enter  Paradise."  His  dying  prayer  was,  "  Lord,  grant 


286        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

me  pardon,  and  join  me  to  the  companionship  on  high." 
Then  at  intervals,  "  Eternity  in  Paradise  !  Pardon  ! 
Yes  !  the  blessed  companionship  on  high  !  "  And  then 
again,  a  prayer  for  forgiveness  of  his  former  and  latter 
sins. 

Ali,  who  knew  the  Prophet's  mind  so  intimately, 
for  it  was  as  a  lad  that  he  had  first  loved  and  followed 
him,  in  every  recorded  prayer  of  his  own,  pleads  again 
and  again  for  forgiveness  of  his  sins  to  the  "  All-loving  " 
God.  In  one  prayer  he  gives  thanks  "  to  the  Lord, 
whose  mercy  extends  to  every  sinner,  who  provides 
for  even  those  who  deny  Him."  "  Who  forgiveth,  in 
His  mercy,  our  greatest  sins,  and  loveth  all  creation." 

It  was  a  mighty  and  victorious  warrior  who  cried, 
in  his  last  hour,  with  self-abasement  at  the  thought 
of  his  sin,  and  claiming  no  merit  from  his  prayers, 
"  Almighty  God,  Thou  hast  commanded,  and  I  have 
disobeyed :  Thou  hast  forbidden,  and  I  have  transgressed. 
I  am  not  innocent  enough  to  deserve  Thy  pardon." 

Purposely  I  have  passed  over  all  the  records  of  the 
mystics  in  this  matter  of  sin  and  prayer,  choosing  to 
look  at  Islam  in  the  days  of  its  early  simplicity,  from 
which  most  of  the  goodness  that  is  in  it  to  this  day 
comes. 

We  may  mourn  that  a  people  so  good  and  great 
have  no  share  in  an  Atoning  Sacrifice  (who  of  the 
Christian  peoples  does  not  mourn  this  ?),  and  long  to 
see  them  comforted  and  softened  by  this  nobler  version 
of  the  love  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding  ; 
but  if  we  are  to  be  in  a  position  to  help  them,  we  must 
be  just,  even  where  justice  seems  to  impede  our  im- 
mediate appeal ;  and,  above  all  things,  we  must  cultivate 
a  generous  and  selfless  patience. 


CHAPTER   III 

A   STUDY    IN    FANATICISM 

"  Verily  they  who  believe  (Moslems)  and  they  who  follow  the  Jewish 
religion,  and  the  Christians,  and  the  Sabeites — whoever  of  these  believeth 
in  God  and  the  last  day,  and  doeth  that  which  is  right,  shall  have  their 
reward  with  their  Lord  ;  fear  shall  not  come  upon  them,  neither  shall  they 
be  grieved."  Sura  ii.  59. 

IN  nothing  has  injustice  been  more  insistent  than  in  the 
way  the  Moslem  religion  has  been  popularly  accounted 
almost  synonymous  with  fanaticism.  So  much  is  this 
the  case  that  it  will  be  found  that  almost  every  writer 
on  Islam  brings  to  the  subject  a  preconceived  idea  with 
which  his  observations — often  unconsciously — are  made 
to  agree. 

This  insistence  is  the  more  strange  from  the  little 
support  the  charge  gets  from  the  impartial  historians, 
whose  story  always  goes  to  show  that  from  earliest  days 
Islam  has  exhibited  a  toleration  for  which  they  have  not 
received  sufficient  credit ;  while  any  writer  who  has 
really  lived  intimately  amongst  the  people  has  quickly 
found  that  the  popular  Western  notion — like  so  many  of 
these  floating  verdicts  about  foreign  people  in  every  part 
of  the  world — was  entirely  misleading. 

Lane  declared  that  the  Egyptians  in  Cairo  combined 
toleration  with  a  pride  which  had  something  of  silent 
contempt  in  it  towards  other  religions.  It  is  this  pride 

which  so  often  misleads.     There  is  a  sort  of  naivete  in  the 

287 


288        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Moslem  belief  that  his  religion  is  the  best,  a  sort  of 
theological  conceit  which,  however,  is  generally  free  from 
all  bitterness. 

On  my  own  part,  in  places  as  varied  as  Sidi  Okba  in 
the  Sahara  Desert  (after  being  warned  of  the  place  as 
particularly  fanatical  owing  to  the  great  saint's  tomb 
being  there),  in  the  Algerian  and  the  Egyptian  town  and 
village,  in  many  a  bedouin  camp,  as  well  as  in  Cairo,  the 
centre  of  Islam's  culture,  I  have  found  nothing  but 
toleration. 

I  have  been  invited  by  a  sober  Cadi  of  a  desert 
village — who  had  never  known  a  Christian  man  before — 
to  join  him  in  a  simple  petition  at  the  tomb  of  his  patron 
saint,  that  the  good  God  would  bless  us,  and  let  us  meet 
in  the  streets  of  Paradise  if  we  might  never  meet  again  on 
earth. 

And  long  after  this  and  similar  experiences,  I  came 
across  the  record  of  a  Christian  woman  who  loved  the 
people  of  Egypt,  and  had  discovered  the  same  spirit  in 
them.  The  Cadi  of  Keneh  invited  this  lady  to  the 
festival  of  the  great  saint  there,  and  when  she  hesitated, 
thinking  some  of  the  Moslems  might  be  offended  by  her 
presence,  he  declared  that  if  any  such  ignorant  persons 
were  present  it  was  high  time  they  learnt  better,  and 
said  it  was  by  no  means  unlawful  for  virtuous  Christians, 
and  such  as  neither  hated  nor  scorned  the  Muslimeen, 
to  profit  by  or  share  in  their  prayer,  and  that  she  should 
sit  before  the  sheikh's  tomb  with  the  Mufti — all  of  which 
happened. 

The  followers  of  Jesus,  declared  one  of  her  Moslem 
friends,  a  Cadi,  or  magistrate,  have  "  received  guidance  " 
and  are  "  not  among  the  rejected."  Those  who  do 
right  shall  have  their  reward.  "  Even  unbelievers  God 


Phot°\  \_Dittrich,  Cairo. 

A  STREET  IN  NATIVE  CAIRO,  PENETRATED  BY  THE  NOON-DAY  SUN. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    289 

will  not  defraud."  Her  kindness  to  the  Moslem  poor 
broke  down  all  barriers ;  the  sheikh  even  offered  to 
read  the  "  noble  Koran  "  with  her,  an  unusual  thing, 
but  not  in  any  way  prohibited,  as  I  know  from  experi- 
ence. 

I  was  myself  sitting  once  with  a  Moslem  friend  to 
whom  had  befallen  a  great  sorrow.  The  Koran  was 
being  read,  and  a  distinguished  stranger,  beckoning 
an  acquaintance  of  mine  to  him,  whispered,  "  There  is 
a  Nazareen  here." 

"  Yes  !  he  is  a  friend  !  He  walked  to-day  with  us  to 
the  tomb." 

"  But  remember,  this  is  Holy  Koran  !  "  —a  gentle 
word  of  warning. 

And  then,  when  he  saw  I  listened  with  the  proper 
deportment  of  respect,  and  with  no  sign  of  the  scorn  they 
always  expect  from  Christians,  he  came  to  me  in  an 
interval  to  greet  me  as  a  friend. 

It  was  a  Moslem  sheikh  who  put  the  matter  of 
religious  differences  in  this  way  :  "  Look  at  your  servant 
boy.  Can  he  understand  a  hundredth  part  of  the 
thoughts  of  your  mind  ?  Nevertheless  he  loves  you, 
and  obeys  you  with  pleasure  and  alacrity  ;  and  will  you 
punish  him  because  he  knows  not  all  your  ways  ?  And 
shall  God,  who  is  as  much  higher  above  us  as  you  are 
above  your  slave,  be  less  just  ?  "  And  he  quoted  the 
Koran,  and  the  ulema,  to  show  that  the  religious  beliefs 
of  men  are  not  to  be  judged  by  man. 

This  sheikh  was  taught  in  the  school  of  Al  Azar.  The 
sternest  rules  are  laid  down  against  answering  questions 
on  such  matters  as  these,  by  those  who  have  not  certain 
knowledge.  I  have  sat  in  the  chief  sheikh's  private 
room  at  Al  Azar,  as  I  have  described,  and  heard  a  lecture 


290        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

to  advanced  students  particularly  Insisting  on  this 
reserve.  The  man  of  secular  education  should  not 
answer  at  all  such  theological  questions,  whatever  his 
own  judgment  may  be. 

On  another  occasion  a  great  Alim,  deeply  versed  in 
Koranic  knowledge,  visited  Lady  Duff  Gordon  at  Luxor, 
and  said  he  hoped  she  had  not  been  molested  on  account 
of  her  religion,  and  if  she  had,  she  must  forgive  it,  as  the 
people  here  were  so  very  ignorant,  and  barbarians  were 
bigots  everywhere.  She  replied  that  the  people  of  Luxor 
were  her  brothers ;  and  a  local  man  told  how  she  had 
served  God  amongst  them,  and  in  times  of  sickness  had 
risked  her  life  every  day.  To  which  the  great  theologian 
replied,  "  And  if  she  had  died,  her  place  was  made  ready 
among  the  martyrs  of  God,  because  she  showed  more 
love  to  her  brothers  than  to  herself  !  " 

It  was  in  Egypt,  as  long  as  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
since,  that  a  Moslem  sheikh  observing  the  saintly  life 
of  the  Moravian  missionary,  John  Henry  Danke,  said, 
"  Such  Christians  as  you  are  sure  to  go  to  heaven." 

There  is  no  need  to  ignore  facts  which  seem  to  prove 
something  quite  contrary  to  this.  That  apostasy  is 
punishable  with  death,  according  to  a  Koranic  text,  and 
that  as  recently  as  1843  such  a  sentence  was  carried  out  in 
virtue  of  a  decision  of  an  Ottoman  law  court ;  and  that 
Lord  Cromer  had  to  interfere,  once  or  twice,  to  protect 
from  maltreatment  Moslems  who  had  perverted  from 
their  early  faith. 

The  truth  is  in  the  Alim's  words — barbarians  are 
bigots  everywhere  !  Christianity  has  advanced  beyond 
some  very  dark  days  in  this  respect,  although  her  "  per- 
fect work  "  is  not  yet  accomplished  even  in  the  matter 
of  toleration  and  liberty.  There  are  Christian  Sisters 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    291 

in  Europe,  of  whom  I  have  heard,  whose  hospital  rules 
would  not  allow  them  to  nurse  Protestants,  and  Prussians 
who  must  needs  refuse  charity  to  non-Lutherans.  It 
was  only  in  1908  that  a  great  storm  was  raised  by  Pro- 
testants in  London,  at  the  attendance  of  the  late  King 
Edward  at  a  memorial  service  to  his  friend  King 
Carlos  of  Portugal  in  a  Roman  Catholic  church. 

Surely  toleration  is,  everywhere,  of  a  slow  growth. 
About  the  time  that  that  "  fanatical  agitation  " — as  it 
was  called  by  the  Moslem  world,  which  took  note  of  it — 
was  going  on  in  London,  an  Englishman  was  making  a 
journey  across  the  desert  from  Algeria  to  Tripoli,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  was,  of  necessity,  having  dealings  with 
the  Moslem  confraternity  of  the  Senussi,  about  whom 
so  much  has  been  heard  lately  in  connection  with  Italy's 
onslaught.  The  very  name  of  the  Senussi  stands  in  the 
West  for  fanaticism. 

Mr.  H.  Vixer  was  formerly  a  Christian  missionary, 
and  is  now  an  official  in  Northern  Nigeria,  in  which 
capacity  he  travelled.  He  made  no  attempt  to  conceal 
either  his  nationality  or  his  religion.  And  what  treat- 
ment did  he  receive  from  the  men  of  this  brotherhood  ? 
Men  driven  painfully  into  the  desert  to  live  an 
austere  religious  life  away  from  enemies  whom  they 
hated,  not  because  of  their  Christian  faith,  as  is  now 
being  shown,  but  because  of  the  offences  and  oppressions 
of  their  rule.  So  far  indeed  were  the  Senussi  from 
opposing  him  with  the  fanatical  hatred  which  they  are 
universally  supposed  to  entertain  for  Europeans,  that 
they  took  him  into  their  religious  houses,  and  gave  him 
help  and  protection  ;  and  he  learned  afterwards,  that 
when  some  brigands  who  had  followed  his  caravan 
begged  admittance  at  one  of  the  houses  of  the  brother- 


292         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

hood  they  were  driven  off,  their  action  in  contemplating 
an  attack  upon  strangers  being  repugnant  to  the  Senussi 
Order. 

To  turn  to  history  is  to  find  a  succession  of  stories 
just  as  surprisingly  contradictory  of  popular  beliefs  as 
this  is.  When  the  Prophet  himself  marched  upon 
Mecca,  and  crowned  his  life's  work  by  taking  the  city 
which  had  scorned  him  and  driven  him  away  from  its 
gates,  what  a  kindly  and  bloodless  re-entry  he  made. 

In  the  days  of  his  power  his  generous  thoughts  were 
for  Egypt,  which  he  foresaw  would  come  under  the 
sway  of  his  followers.  With  an  eye  perhaps  upon  that 
fierce  disciple,  Omar,  he  commanded  consideration  for 
the  Coptic  Christians  there — "  Be  kind  to  the  men  of 
the  curly  hair  in  Egypt,  for  they  are  your  uncles  and 
your  brothers  !  " 

And  how  nobly  Omar  adopted  these  principles, 
which  must  have  seemed  such  an  innovation  to  him. 
Even  in  turning  out  of  Arabia  the  Jews  and  Christians, 
at  what  he  thought  to  be  the  Prophet's  wish,  Omar's 
dealings  with  them  were  marked  by  so  much  mercy  and 
fairness,  that  even  opponents  admit  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  his  actions  in  Arabia  were  dictated  by 
motives  of  sound  policy  (Mohammed  and  His  Power, 
p.  176).  The  fact  that  Arabia  has  been  closed  to  non- 
Moslems  is  often  cited  as  a  proof  of  the  fanaticism  of 
the  Arab  people.  This  Christian  writer  has,  however, 
been  fair  enough  to  say,  "  Arabia  was  the  stronghold 
and  recruiting  ground  for  the  armies  of  Islam,  tribal 
jealousies  were  hard  enough  to  deal  with,  and  Omar 
felt  that  it  was  indispensable  that  the  bond  of  religion 
should  be  unbroken."  It  is  certain  that  the  onward 
movement  of  civilisation  will  remove  the  restrictions, 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    293 

too  long  maintained  after  the  legitimate  causes  had 
passed  away.  Indeed,  I  have  myself  been  promised 
immunity,  by  Moslem  friends,  from  opposition  if  I 
would  accompany — as  a  Christian,  of  course — a  certain 
influential  Pilgrimage  Caravan  to  Mecca.  But  this  is 
premature.  Meanwhile,  the  railway  advances  to  the 
Holy  City. 

The  story  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Egypt,  at  the 
period  of  the  Conquest,  was  deplorable  in  every  way, 
and  in  nothing  more  than  the  entire  absence  of  any 
conception  of  the  principles  of  toleration.  Even  under 
the  fire-worshipping  Persians,  the  Copts  had  been 
allowed  to  practise  their  own  form  of  religion.  It  was 
Cyrus,  the  Christian  Primate  of  Alexandria  (who  had 
been  appointed  by  the  Emperor  Heraclius)  who  resolved 
to  wrest  this  liberty  from  them.  And  by  a  bloody 
persecution  he  forced  upon  them  the  doctrine  of  Chal- 
cedon — with  stripes  and  death  as  the  alternative.  Such 
revolting  and  barbarous  cruelties  were  practised  to 
force  upon  the  people  one  Christian  creed  in  the  place 
of  another,  that  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  the  Copts 
declaring  that  subjection  to  the  Moslems  would  improve 
their  lot ;  that  the  yoke  of  Mohammed  would  be  lighter 
than  the  yoke  of  the  most  Christian  Emperor  Heraclius. 

And  this  welcome  by  Christians,  of  Moslem  rule, 
as  a  providential  deliverance  from  the  tyranny  of  fellow- 
Christians,  by  no  means  stands  alone.  In  Syria  men 
thanked  God  that  "  He  delivered  them  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  Romans  by  means  of  the  Arabs." 

It  was  shortly  after  the  exaltation  of  the  Cross  at 
Jerusalem,  that  the  Christian  order  went  out  to  banish 
or  slay  the  Jews,  who  fled  to  the  desert  beyond  Jordan. 
When  they  saw  the  advancing  banners  of  Islam,  they 


294        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

had  reason  to  rejoice  at  the  approach  of  the  enemies 
of  the  Roman  Empire. 

When  the  conqueror,  Amr,  was  at  the  gate  of  the 
fort  of  Old  Cairo,  the  sort  of  toleration  he  found  pre- 
vailing amongst  the  Christians  inside  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  the  Christian  tyrant,  Cyrus,  was 
virtually  in  command. 

The  Moslem  terms  of  surrender  were  that  the 
persons  and  property  of  the  Copts  would  be  respected, 
that  they  would  retain  full  control  over  their  possessions, 
and  all  existing  rights  of  inheritance,  that  their  churches 
would  be  left  uninjured,  and  the  practice  of  their 
religion  unmolested ;  their  priests  would  be  exempt 
from  taxes. 

And  so  it  came  about  that  in  Egypt,  in  the  novel 
atmosphere  of  religious  freedom  thus  introduced  by 
the  Moslem  Conquest,  the  Coptic  Church  revived ; 
and  it  was  the  Moslems  who  would  not  then  allow  the 
Copts  to  start  again  the  war  of  the  sects,  but  granted 
protection  impartially  to  the  Copts  and  the  rival 
Melkites. 

In  telling  the  story  of  the  Arab  conquest,  Dr. 
Butler  found  few  pages  in  the  annals  of  Egypt  more 
agreeable  reading  than  those  which  describe  the  ex- 
tremely friendly  relations  which  prevailed  between 
some  of  the  Caliphs  and  the  Coptic  Abbots,  and  the 
delight  which  the  Moslem  rulers  took  in  visiting 
picturesque  and  pleasant  convents  (Note  6). 

They  were  but  following  their  master,  Mohammed, 
whose  charter,  granting  liberty  to  the  monks  of  St. 
Catherine  near  Mount  Sinai,  and  to  all  Christians,  has 
been  designated  as  one  of  the  noblest  monuments  of 
enlightened  tolerance  that  the  history  of  the  world 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    295 

can  produce.  It  was  in  accordance  with  this  charter 
that  the  terms  of  the  surrender  in  Egypt  were  arranged. 

The  same  noble  clemency  marked  the  taking  of 
Jerusalem.  In  Mr.  Pickthall's  vivid  words — Omar's 
severity  towards  the  Christians  was  so  much  below  their 
anticipations,  that  he  figures  in  the  popular  memory 
almost  as  a  benefactor  of  their  religion.  They  were 
deprived  of  their  church  bells,  but  kept  their  churches  ; 
and  if  large  numbers  of  them  embraced  El-Islam,  it 
was  through  self-interest  (or  conviction),  and  not  at 
the  point  of  the  sword,  as  has  been  represented.  In- 
deed, the  toleration  shown  by  the  Moslems  towards  the 
vanquished,  though  less  than  wTe  should  practise  nowadays, 
is  without  a  parallel  in  Europe  till  many  centuries 
later.  It  was  not  emulated  by  the  Crusaders,  who, 
rushing  to  wrest  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  clutch 
of  the  "  foul  paynim,"  were  astonished  to  find  it  in  the 
hands  of  Christians,  whom,  to  cloak  their  disconcertion, 
they  denounced  as  heretics. 

The  whole  story  of  Omar's  entry  into  Jerusalem,  a 
city  almost  as  sacred  then  as  now  to  the  Moslem  as 
to  the  Christian  and  the  Jew,  notwithstanding  all  the 
libels  of  the  Crusading  Popes  to  the  contrary,  shows 
not  only  the  spirit  of  wide  tolerance,  but  even  a  delicacy 
of  consideration  for  the  Christians  there  (Note  7). 
With  a  wonderful  simplicity  of  personal  manner,  only 
equalled  by  all  lack  of  ceremonious  display,  Omar  rode 
through  the  Holy  City  side  by  side  with  the  Christian 
Patriarch.  He  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the  mosque, 
which  to  this  day  bears  his  name,  and  then  left  Jerusalem 
with  as  little  ostentation  as  he  came  (Note  8). 

The  government  Omar  instituted  was  in  the  same 
spirit  as  we  have  seen,  and  which  fifteen  years  after  the 


296        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

taking  of  Damascus  led  the  Nestorian  bishop  to  write, 
"  These  Arabs,  to  whom  God  has  given  in  our  time  the 
dominion,  .  .  .  fight  not  against  the  Christian  religion  ; 
nay,  rather  they  defend  our  faith,  they  revere  our  priests 
and  saints,  and  they  make  gifts  to  our  churches  and 
monasteries."  The  great  church  at  Damascus  was  then 
used  at  the  same  time  both  by  Christians  and  Moslems. 

That  this  spirit  was  lasting  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  John  of  Damascus,  a  Christian  theologian  of  the 
eighth  century,  lived  under  the  protection  of  the 
Moslems  to  escape  the  vengeance  of  the  Byzantine 
Emperor,  whom  he  had  opposed  in  a  controversy  about 
the  worship  of  images.  The  Moslems  not  only  protected 
him  but  gave  him  employment.  And  all  the  time  he 
was  known  as  a  Christian,  and  used  much  of  his  time 
in  writing  treatises  against  Islam,  in  which  he  was 
greatly  helped  by  his  knowledge  of  the  Koranic  text. 

Indeed,  through  all  the  best  days  of  Islam  the  same 
principle  of  toleration  was  manifested.  It  became  a 
Moslem  maxim  that  "  the  real  learning  of  a  man  is  of 
more  public  importance  than  any  particular  religious 
opinions  he  may  entertain."  A  mind  without  learning 
is  a  body  without  a  soul ;  glory  consists  not  in  wealth 
but  in  knowledge,  were  two  of  the  sayings  of  the 
founder.  The  Caliphate  was  held  during  several  ages 
by  monarchs  who  rank  amongst  the  most  accomplished 
by  whom  any  empire  has  been  swayed. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  religious  differences 
were  forgotten.  "  I  chose  this  learned  man,"  said  the 
Caliph  Almamon,  speaking  of  Messul,  whom  he  was 
criticised  for  making  President  of  a  College  at  Damascus, 
"  not  to  be  my  guide  in  religious  matters,  but  to  be  my 
teacher  of  science."  And  the  same  principle  opened 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    297 

the  doors  of  all  the  chief  universities  of  the  Moslem 
world,  beginning  with  Cordova,  to  men  of  learning, 
regardless  of  creed. 

In  Spain  the  love  and  pursuit  of  learning,  especially 
of  literature  and  science,  drew  all  men  in  search  of 
culture  to  that  part  of  the  world,  and  established  "  a 
toleration  of  which  modern  times  hardly  offer  us  an 
example  "  (Note  9).  All  the  barriers  which  separated 
Christians,  Jews,  and  Moslems  were  effaced ;  here  they 
learned  to  speak  the  same  language,  enjoying  an  un- 
hampered social  life,  singing  the  same  songs,  quoting 
the  same  poets,  all  working  with  one  accord  in  the 
work  of  a  common  civilisation. 

The  mosques  of  Cordova  were  the  leading  schools 
of  the  world  ;  they  numbered  thousands  of  students, 
and  were  splendid  centres  of  scientific  and  philosophical 
study.  By  Christian  testimony  Cordova  was  "  the 
brightest  splendour  of  the  world."  It  was  indeed  the 
golden  age  of  literature  and  science  in  all  the  history 
of  Spain,  which  reached  its  zenith  under  Hakan,  whose 
library  alone  would  have  made  him  famous  for  all  time. 
In  the  story  of  eight  centuries  of  chivalrous  and  en- 
lightened rule  in  Spain,  the  most  prosperous  era  of 
that  country's  riches,  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and 
in  populousness,  as  well  as  of  culture,  even  the  historians 
of  the  enemies  of  the  Moors  cannot  record  a  single 
instance  of  cold-blooded  cruelty. 

And  what  succeeded  this  era  ?  A  Christian  priest- 
hood goading  on  a  civil  power  to  treat  with  unexampled 
fanaticism  the  people  from  whom  they  had  always 
received  humanity  and  protection.  The  fiendish  in- 
vention of  an  Inquisition.  And  the  ruthless  bigotry 
which  could  burn  the  literature  of  all  that  splendid 


298         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

dynasty,  the  labours  of  philosophers,  mathematicians, 
scientists,  and  poets,  gathered  here  from  every  part 
of  the  world. 

There  is  no  need  to  labour  this  point  of  the  fanaticism 
of  which  the  Christian  peoples  proved  themselves  cap- 
able in  their  days  of  partial  enlightenment  (Note  10). 
The  sheikh  of  Luxor  was  right — where  people  are 
ignorant,  there  are  bigots,  no  matter  where,  and  it  is 
in  the  religious  field  that  fanaticism  ever  finds  its  most 
congenial  soil ! 

The  "  Sword  of  Islam  "  is  a  powerful  weapon  to  use 
against  this  religion.  Conquest  was,  of  course,  by  the 
sword,  as  it  always  must  be,  East  or  West ;  as  it  is 
to-day,  when  we  are  witnessing  a  war  in  Tripoli,  blessed 
by  the  Church  as  being  for  the  placing  of  the  Cross 
above  the  Crescent.  But  the  use  made  of  the  sword 
need  not  be  exaggerated,  nor  the  work  of  such  a  scholar 
as  T.  W.  Arnold,  who  proved  that  the  sword  played  but 
an  inconsiderable  part  in  the  spread  of  Islam,  treated 
as  so  pernicious  as  to  need  an  "  antidote."  "  It  is  not 
in  the  cruelties  of  the  persecutor  or  the  fury  of  the 
fanatic,"  says  Arnold,  "  that  we  should  look  for  the 
evidence  of  the  missionary  spirit  of  Islam,  any  more 
than  in  the  exploits  of  that  mythical  personage,  the 
Moslem  warrior,  with  sword  in  one  hand  and  the  Koran 
in  the  other." 

But  it  is  to  "  fanatic  zeal "  and  to  "  worldly 
motives  "  (the  Rev.  S.  M.  Zwemer)  that  the  opponents 
of  Islam  seem  determined  always  to  look  for  an  explana- 
tion of  that  marvellous  inspiration  which  so  united 
a  number  of  scattered  tribes  of  the  desert  and  made 
of  them  world  conquerors  and  rulers. 

As  for  the  fanatic  spirit,  I  have  shown  how  com- 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    299 

pletely  it  was  disguised  by  the  first  Caliphs.  As  for 
worldly  motives,  let  it  be  admitted  at  once  that  there 
is,  through  all  the  Moslem  religion,  a  robust  and 
practical  acknowledgment  of  the  necessity  for  man  to 
live,  by  practical  means ;  and  a  frank  recognition  of  the 
value  of  wealth  in  the  aifairs  of  men.  "  Honest  wealth 
is  good  for  honest  men,"  said  the  Prophet,  and  he 
always  encouraged  his  followers  to  strive  hard  to  gain 
it,  while  yet  never  ceasing  to  warn  them  of  the  limita- 
tions of  its  power.  He  believed,  as  the  other  prophets 
of  old  did,  that  those  who  served  the  Lord  should  "  be 
fat  and  flourishing,"  and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  go 
deliberately  in  quest  of  the  bounties  of  God ;  but  they 
were  never  to  forget  that  God  hath  in  reserve  what 
is  better  than  merchandise.  They  were  to  deal  fairly 
even  with  their  enemies.  And  they  were  to  use  their 
wealth  for  God  ;  to  shun  ostentation  ;  to  care,  before 
all  things,  for  the  orphan  and  the  poor  ;  and  they  were 
forbidden  to  gain  wealth  by  usury  (Note  n). 

It  was  natural,  I  think,  that  when  these  desert 
warriors  broke  away  from  the  bare  and  frugal  land  of 
their  birth,  and  tasted  the  fruits  of  victory  in  such  rich 
lands  as  Persia,  Egypt,  Africa,  Spain,  they  should  frankly 
admit,  as  Khalid  did,  "  Even  if  we  cared  not  to  fight 
for  the  cause  of  God,  yet  we  could  not  but  wish  to  con- 
tend for  and  enjoy  such  lands  as  these,  leaving  distress 
and  hunger  henceforth  for  others." 

Many  writers  have  imagined  that  the  Tribute 
(jezyah),  which  was  exacted  by  the  Moslem  conquerors 
from  those  who  preferred  to  pay  a  toll  and  keep  their 
own  religion,  was  for  their  own  enrichment.  Islam 
did  not  demand  military  service  from  men  of  other 
religions,  and  tribute  was  taken  to  pay  for  the  protection 


300        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

and  defence  of  those  who  could  not  fight  themselves. 
If,  however,  Christians  preferred  to  serve,  they  were 
exempt  from  the  payment  of  tribute ;  if  Moslems 
themselves  wished  exemption  from  military  service 
they  had  to  pay  the  tribute. 

The  spirit  in  which  the  tribute  was  exacted  is  shown 
by  the  treaty  made  by  Khalid  with  some  towns  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Hirah — "  If  we  protect  you,  then 
jezyah  (tribute)  is  due  to  us  ;  but  if  we  do  not,  then  it 
is  not  due."  During  the  Caliph  Omar's  reign,  when 
Syria  had  been  conquered,  the  Emperor  Heraclius 
raised  an  enormous  army  to  drive  back  the  Moslem 
forces.  The  General  wrote  to  the  people  saying,  "  We 
give  you  back  the  money  we  took  from  you,  as  we  have 
received  news  that  a  strong  force  is  advancing  against 
us.  The  agreement  between  us  was  that  we  should 
protect  you,  and  as  this  is  not  in  our  power,  we  return 
you  all  that  we  took.  But  if  we  are  victorious,  we 
shall  consider  ourselves  bound  to  you  by  the  old  terms 
of  our  agreement." 

This  act  cost  the  Moslems  enormous  sums  out  of 
the  State  Treasury,  at  a  time  when  the  money  was 
desperately  wanted  for  war.  These  Syrian  Christians 
said,  "  May  God  give  the  Moslems  rule  over  us  again, 
and  make  them  victorious  over  the  Romans ;  had  it 
been  they,  they  would  not  have  given  us  back  anything, 
but  would  have  taken  all  we  had." 

In  these  modern  days  we  hear  much,  from  those 
Christian  nations  who  possess  the  necessary  Sword,  of 
"  open  doors  for  trade,"  of  "  concessions,"  of  "  spheres 
of  influence."  The  following  statement  of  modern 
ideals  I  heard  this  year  (January  1912)  from  the  lips 
of  a  German  lecturer,  speaking,  I  imagine,  with  more 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    301 

than  private  authority :  "  No  nation  that  can  fight 
need  starve.  .  .  .  Only  a  clear  and  practical  arrange- 
ment over  a  real  expansion  for  German  colonisation 
and  German  trade  with  regard  to  British  interests  can 
produce  an  Anglo-German  entente.  .  .  .  Otherwise, 
sooner  or  later,  arms  will  have  to  decide  whether 
Germany  shall  remain  limited  to  Central  Europe,  or 
expand  oversea  according  to  her  natural  extension 
and  real  strength."  The  momentous  words  being 
spoken  in  a  lecture  at  Shepheard's  Hotel  in  Cairo,  by 
Dr.  Carl  Peters  on  "  Great  Britain  and  the  German 
Empire." 

That  is  a  candid  statement,  and  to  be  preferred  to 
the  cant  which  hides  material  ambitions  under  hypo- 
critical names,  talking  of  taking  "  our  proper  part  in 
extending  the  borders  of  civilisation,"  in  carrying  the 
religion  of  our  fathers  to  benighted  regions,  and  so  on, 
of  which  too  much  is  heard. 

But  along  with  the  frankness  of  the  desert  warriors 
as  to  material  ends  there  was  always  that  passionate 
note  of  the  missionary,  aflame  with  his  new-found  zeal 
for  the  one  God,  sometimes  even  leading  them  to  ignore 
or  forget  "  the  spoils  of  war  "  of  which  their  later  day 
enemies  have  made  so  much. 

It  was  the  despised  Negro  messenger  to  the  Christian 
Cyrus  in  Old  Cairo  who  said,  "  We  live  only  to  fight 
for  God,  and  to  follow  His  will.  We  care  nought  for 
wealth,  so  long  as  we  have  the  wherewithal  to  stay  our 
hunger,  and  to  clothe  our  bodies.  This  world  is  nought 
to  us,  the  next  is  all."  And  Cyrus  saw  enough  of  these 
people  to  convince  him  that  they  were  a  people  of 
death,  holding  it  gain  to  be  killed  and  sent  to  Paradise, 
whereas  the  Romans  loved  the  things  of  this  life  and 


302        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

clung  to  them.  Such  was  the  spirit  in  which  the  sword 
of  Islam  was  wielded  in  those  early  days. 

When  the  deplorable  decadence  of  Islam  set  in,  and 
more  especially  when  this  power  was  driven  back  upon 
itself  by  the  growing  strength  of  an  awakened  Chris- 
tianity, which  regarded  it  as  "  the  enemy  of  God  "  and 
"  anti-Christ,"  and  the  Eastern  pride  of  its  adherents 
was  insulted  and  wounded  in  every  part  where  it  was 
most  susceptible  and  tender,  Islam  began  to  meet 
suspicion  and  contempt  with  either  a  sullen  reticence 
or  a  savage  defiance. 

With  every  loss  of  political  power  to  Islam,  there  has 
been  a  further  proud  withdrawal  into  the  mysterious 
regions  of  its  religion,  where  it  has  sought  to  comfort 
and  support  itself,  and  to  which  alone  access  could  be 
proudly  denied  to  its  enemies. 

The  people  of  the  West  have  never  been  able  to 
follow  the  working  of  the  Eastern  mind  ;  though  they 
have  never  failed  to  have  ready  a  terse  label  to  designate 
every  movement  with  which  it  has  to  do. 

Fanaticism ;  that  is  a  comprehensive  word  to  set  at 
rest  a  hundred  problems  which  without  such  a  name 
would  prove  elusive  and  vexatious.  It  is  easy,  for 
instance,  to  dismiss  as  fanaticism  a  riot  at  Al  Azar  by 
students,  annoyed  with  the  "  camera  fiend,"  to  those 
who  can  understand  no  religious  scruples  which  might 
make  photography  repugnant,  and  in  any  case  would 
not  respect  such  scruples.  And  when  the  West  is  at  a 
loss  to  explain  the  existence  of  a  great  fraternity  of 
Moslems  in  the  desert  like  the  Senussi,  whose  aims  and 
movements  are  otherwise  inexplicable,  then  "fanati- 
cism "  affords  again  a  grateful  refuge. 

And  behind  all  this,  there  is  evidently  an  obstinate 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    303 

and  perverse  determination,  on  the  part  of  missionary 
writers  especially,  to  cling  to  their  own  interpretation  of 
the  Jihad,  or  Holy  War,  an  interpretation  which  Moslems 
themselves  have  repudiated  over  and  over  again.  The 
Rev.  W.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  scarcely  ever  writes  on  the 
subject  of  Islam  without  asserting  that  "  this  obliga- 
tion to  persecute  is  still  incumbent  upon  Moslems,  and 
is  faithfully  observed  even  up  to  the  present  day  in 
every  country  where  Mohammedanism  reigns  supreme 
.  .  .  and  must  ever  be." 

And  this,  in  the  face  even  of  the  declaration  of  such 
an  impartial  writer  as  Lane,  who  became  convinced 
that  his  own  first  views  were  erroneous,  and  "  must 
express  my  convictions  that  no  precept  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Koran  which,  taken  with  the  context,  can  justify 
unprovoked  war." 

T.  W.  Arnold  asserts,  "  There  are  no  passages  to  be 
found  in  the  Koran  that  in  any  way  enjoin  forcible 
conversion,  and  many  on  the  contrary  that  limit  pro- 
pagandist efforts  to  preaching  and  persuasion,"  quoting 
with  approval  the  contention  of  a  Moslem  writer  that 
no  passages  in  the  Koran  authorise  unprovoked  attacks 
on  unbelievers.  The  word  Jihad  was  used  before  the 
Koran  was  written,  and  primarily  bears  no  reference  to 
war  or  fighting,  much  less  to  fighting  against  unbelievers, 
but  derives  its  particular  application  from  the  context 
only. 

Mr.  Samuel  M.  Zwemer  seems  to  be  almost  annoyed 
that  Jihad  is  not  "  mentioned  as  a  pillar  of  religion." 
It  could  then,  of  course,  be  used  against  Islam  without 
fear  of  contradiction.  Not  that  he  is  deterred,  by  this 
omission  of  the  Prophet  to  add  Jihad  to  the  five  pillars 
of  religion,  from  declaring  that  Jihad  "  is  a  duty  plainly 


304        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

taught  by  the  Koran  and  by  the  Traditions."  Indulging 
in  a  sneer  at  Arnold  and  Syed  Ameer  Ali  for  "  interpret- 
ing these  passages  (in  the  Koran)  in  a  semi-spiritual 
way.  .  .  .  They  even  try  to  make  Jihad  mean  a  sort 
of  Christian  Endeavour  Society  for  propagating  Islam  !  " 
And  Mr.  Zwemer  appeals  against  such  Orientalists  to 
the  opinion  of  the  Rev.  Marcus  Dods  ! 

Very  different  is  this  from  the  line  taken  by  the 
missionary  who  recently  wrote,  "  To  lessen  the  shame  of 
its  terrible  defeat  Christendom  has  tried  to  persuade 
itself  that  this  victory  of  Islam  was  won  by  the  barbarous 
use  of  the  sword,  and  that  it  is  no  proof  of  religious 
superiority.  But  it  is  time  that  we  stopped  deceiving 
ourselves.  ...  It  is  not  true  that  it  was  the  sword 
that  compelled  the  inhabitants  (of  conquered  countries) 
to  adopt  the  Faith  of  Islam  "  (Herr  Missioninspektor 
K.  Axenfeld). 

As  a  great  ulema  said  to  me  in  Cairo,  is  it  not  strange 
if  we  may  not  interpret  the  Koran  to  suit  the  develop- 
ment and  growth  of  the  world  ?  If  you,  as  a  Christian, 
quote  a  text  from  the  Koran  to  show  that  I  must  of 
necessity  be  a  bloodthirsty  fanatic,  and  you  refuse  to 
consider  the  interpretations  I  put  upon  the  Prophet's 
instructions,  surely  if  I  quote  another  Koranic  text 
absolutely  refuting  you,  you  must  be  silent.  I  assert 
to  you  that  the  "  striking  off  of  heads  "  refers  solely 
and  alone  to  the  stubborn  idolaters  who,  in  the  Arabian 
Peninsula,  refused  to  acknowledge  God ;  because  Mo- 
hammed believed,  as  a  ruler,  that  "  carnage  is  better 
than  civil  discord."  When  that  discord  was  ended  the 
people  were  commanded  to  have  "  no  hostility  save 
against  the  wicked"  (Sura  ii.  188-9). 

"You  will  pardon  me — the  ulema  continued — if   I 


l'hoto\  [Lekegian,  Cairo. 

THE  MAGNIFICENT  ARCADE  OF  NINTH  CENTURY  ARCHES  IN  THE  RUINS  OF  THE 
MOSQUE  OF  IBN  TOULOUN,  CAIRO. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    305 

remind  you  that  Peter  the  Hermit  (in  1098  A.D.)  was 
sent  as  a  Christian  ambassador  to  the  Turkish  generals 
to  offer  them  the  choice  of'  destruction,  or  conversion 
to  the  faith  of  Christ.  As  for  cursing  Christians  in  the 
mosque,  let  me  assure  you  that  the  words  used  do  not 
refer  to  either  Christians  or  Jews,  but  to  idolaters  and 
enemies ;  no  man  with  whom  I  would  sit  at  meat 
is  included  in  the  curse.  And  as  for  compelling  con- 
version at  the  point  of  the  sword,  it  is  a  fiction  of 
Western  writers.  "  Wilt  thou  compel  men  to  become 
believers  ?  No  soul  can  believe  but  by  the  permission 
of  God,"  says  the  Holy  Koran  (Sura  x.  99).  "  Summon 
thou  to  the  way  of  thy  Lord  with  wisdom  and  a  kindly 
warning  ;  dispute  with  them  in  the  kindest  manner  " 
(Sura  xvi.  126).  One  of  the  latest  statements  in  the 
Koran  is  "  Let  there  be  no  compulsion  in  religion " 
(Sura  ii.  257). 

And  you  know — said  the  ulema — the  Koran  speaks 
of  Jesus  as  a  Prophet,  bringing  His  "  Evangel  with  its 
guidance  and  light  ...  a  guidance  and  a  warning  to 
those  who  fear  God  "  (Sura  v.  50).  To  us  the  Koran 
is  "  confirmatory  of  previous  scriptures.  To  every  one 
a  law  and  a  way.  If  God  had  pleased  he  had  surely 
made  men  of  one  religion  ;  but  He  hath  done  otherwise, 
that  He  might  try  you  in  that  which  He  hath  severally 
given  unto  you  ;  therefore  be  emulous  and  press  forward 
in  good  works.  To  God  shall  ye  return,  and  He  will 
make  clear  that  in  which  ye  disagree  "  (Sura  v.  52-3). 

But  why  weary  ourselves  with  quoting  texts  ?  this 
venerable  theological  scholar  concluded.  I  beg  you 
Christian  critics  of  Islam  to  leave  us  to  rise  above  any 
mere  letter  of  the  law,  even  if  it  is  as  you  represent  it, 
as  Christendom  very  largely  has  risen  above  it.  The 
20 


306        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  maketh  alive,  are  great 
words  of  your  Book.  I  believe  that  no  man  would  have 
been  more  ready  to  respond  to  the  changing  and  de- 
veloping conditions  of  life  than  the  Prophet,  with  his 
knowledge  of  men,  his  practical  wisdom,  that  spiritual 
insight  and  zeal,  which  placed  him  so  immeasurably 
above  his  contemporaries.  And  as  you  well  know  (he 
said,  addressing  himself  personally  to  me) — for  you  do  not 
judge  us  without  taking  pains  to  understand  us,  and  are 
not  satisfied  merely  to  study  the  things  Western  critics 
have  said  of  us — the  Prophet  was  in  no  sort  himself 
a  fanatic.  A  hundred  personal  details  of  his  life  prove 
this — to  mention  only  one,  he  had  a  Jew  as  his  secretary 
for  many  years.  Do  you  know  that  when  the  Moslems 
conquered  Persia  their  toleration  extended  even  to  the 
fire-worshippers  ?  A  Moslem  general  there  ordered  an 
Imam  to  be  flogged  because  he  had  destroyed  a  fire- 
temple  in  Sughd  and  built  a  mosque  in  its  place. 

We  Christians  may  well  ask  ourselves  if  we  are 
for  ever  to  regard  it  as  our  first  duty  to  discourage  the 
men  of  this  faith,  who  want  to  help  forward  the  millions 
of  the  Moslem  world  by  leading  them  back  to  the 
simpler  and  purer  teaching  of  their  early  days.  When 
they  turn  to  their  scripture  for  help  in  restoring  the 
days  of  a  pure  religious  fervour,  with  its  fine  principles 
of  toleration,  and  its  encouragement  of  the  pursuit  of 
learning,  is  it  the  Christian  critic  who  is  to  be  the  one 
to  search  for  detached  texts  and  to  try  to  make  of  them 
insuperable  obstacles  and  unbreakable  bonds  ?  I  am 
glad  to  think  that  there  are  not  wanting  signs  that  the 
failure  of  such  methods  of  commending  to  the  Islamic 
world  the  message  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is  being  more 
and  more  recognised. 


CHAPTER    IV 

OF    FATALISM 

"  God  turned  unto  Adam,  for  He  loveth  to  turn — for 

He  is  easy  to  be  reconciled  and  merciful"  (Sura  ii.  35). 

I  SUPPOSE  that  from  no  religion  known  to  man  has  the 
element  of  fatalism  been  entirely  absent,  and  as  different 
phases  of  thought  have  asserted  themselves,  the  doctrine 
of  predestination  has  in  turn  taken  its  place  to  the 
eclipse  for  the  time  being  of  other  views  of  God's 
dealings  with  humanity.  So  recently  did  such  views 
reassert  themselves  in  England — for  St.  Augustine  had 
brought  them  there  at  an  earlier  date — that  I  believe 
an  examination  of  the  trust  deeds  of  a  great  number 
of  nonconformist  places  of  worship  would  lead  to 
either  a  revival  of  Calvinism  or  to  the  closing  of  their 
doors,  if  our  principles  of  adaptability  to  changing 
theological  conditions  were  overridden  and  exact  law 
were  enforced. 

One  of  the  first  attacks  made  upon  Islam  is  generally 
founded  upon  "  the  deadening  influence  of  their  doctrine 
of  fatalism."  Upon  this  doctrine,  Mr.  Zwemer  (from 
whom  I  quote)  and  Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  pile  every 
detail  of  tradition  and  history  in  their  determination 
to  strengthen  the  indictment.  It  is  the  keystone  in 
the  arch  of  the  Moslem  faith  :  it  is  the  only  philosophy 
of  Islam.  God  wills  both  good  and  evil ;  there  is  no 
escaping  from  the  caprice  of  His  decree.  Fatalism  has 


307 


3o8         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

paralysed  progress.  Hope  perishes  under  the  weight 
of  this  iron  bondage  ;  injustice  and  social  decay  are 
stoically  accepted  ;  no  man  bears  the  burden  of  another. 
An  archangel  and  a  murderer,  a  devil  and  a  gnat  equally 
execute  the  will  and  purpose  of  Allah  every  moment 
of  their  existence.  In  this  way  the  awful  indictment 
is  piled  up.  The  Pen  of  God  has  written  of  all  that 
was  to  take  place,  until  the  Resurrection  Day,  "  even 
to  the  amount  of  the  movement  of  the  leaf  of  a  tree  as 
it  rises  and  falls." 

I  marvel  that  any  writer  on  Islam  will  commit 
himself  to  the  statement  that  no  man  bears  another's 
burden — the  charity,  the  self-denial,  the  faithfulness  to 
natural  obligations,  the  daily  personal  ministrations  of 
these  people  to  each  other,  of  which  there  is  abundant 
witness,  and  which  I  have  seen  in  a  thousand  ways,  give 
the  lie  to  such  a  charge.  The  teaching  and  example 
of  the  Prophet,  the  thousand  exhortations  of  the  Koran 
to  care  for  the  orphan  and  the  poor,  to  treat  the  slave 
as  a  member  of  the  family  and  to  make  his  redemption 
easy,  these  things  cry  out  at  every  turn  against  the 
libel. 

And  history  surely  confutes  the  statement  that  there 
is  fatalism  hard  enough  and  dominating  enough  in  Islam 
to  make  advance  impossible.  Is  there  any  doubt  that 
it  was  in  the  fervour  of  their  first  passion  for  Islam  that 
the  tribesmen  and  tent  dwellers  of  Arabia  conquered 
the  world  from  Delhi  to  Granada,  accomplishing  more 
in  one  century  than  the  great  Empire  of  Rome  had 
done  in  seven.  The  fact  is  it  is  no  more  possible  to 
find  a  simple  formula  like  this  of  fatalism — or  Kismet, 
the  word  so  popular  at  present — to  account  for  the 
decadence  and  stagnation  of  Islam,  and  to  declare  its 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    309 

incapacity  for  revival,  than  in  the  Christian  religion 
can  be  found  a  single  doctrine  that  will  account  for  the 
awful  decadence  of  the  Dark  Ages  from  which  it  has 
triumphantly  emerged  into  the  light  of  the  present  day. 
And  it  is  worth  remembering  that  the  days  of  Calvinism 
in  England  coincide  with  a  very  vigorous  period  of  our 
history ;  and  that  some  of  the  most  energetic  and 
enterprising  of  the  pioneers  of  our  modern  commercial 
success  belonged  to  the  sects  holding  these  views. 

I  believe  that  the  heart  of  Islam  is  hidden  from  men 
who  can  write  in  this  way.  They  have  studied  Islam, 
I  know,  and  have  become  learned  in  the  study,  almost 
to  portentiousness.  It  was  a  Moslem  philosopher,  Bishr 
ibn  al-Harith,  a  holy  man  of  Bagdad,  who  said  :  "  The 
punishment  of  the  learned  man  in  this  life  is  blindness 
of  heart."  Unconsciously,  surely,  such  critics,  who 
wish  to  be  regarded  as  the  friends  and  not  the  opponents 
of  Islam,  are  perpetuating  errors  which  were  viciously 
propagated  by  the  bitterest  of  enemies.  It  was  Pope 
Pius  ii.  who,  in  his  letter  to  the  Emperor  of  the  Turks, 
said  :  "  Mohammed  thinks  that  all  things  happen  in 
this  earth  fortuitously,  and  that  God  does  not  regard 
them."  An  inspired  statement  from  which  grew  up 
the  belief  that  Mohammed  denied  the  Providence  of 
God. 

History,  both  ancient  and  modern,  teaches  that  the 
last  thing  to  be  expected  is  that  any  religion  will  be 
understood  by  its  adversaries,  but  that  rather  it  will 
be  loaded  with  unjust  calumnies ;  and  the  followers  of 
Islam  of  all  religions  suffers  most  from  such  a  tendency 
to  this  day,  largely  from  their  dislike  of  disputes  about 
their  religion,  and  from  their  indifference  in  commending 
it  to  any  man  who  opposes  it. 


310        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

There  are  certain  early  vicious  ideas  of  Mohammed 
bearing  upon  this  point  which  it  is  a  shame  almost  to 
mention,  but  which  persist  in  a  strange  way  with  people 
whose  intelligence  should  make  such  nonsense  impossible 
of  survival.  The  Prophet,  says  one  story,  accustomed 
a  pigeon  to  eat  peas  out  of  his  ear,  and  pretended  that 
it  was  the  Holy  Ghost ;  another,  that  he  commanded 
men  to  worship  Venus,  denied  hell,  taught  that  women 
had  no  souls,  and  bade  men  worship  him. 

It  was  in  the  region  of  these  ideas  that  unscrupulous 
adversaries  said  the  Prophet  taught  that  God  was 
corporeal,  and  did  not  regard  human  affairs,  and  was 
the  author  of  all  evil.  "  God  is  Mohammed's  servant, 
for  both  He  and  His  angels  pray  for  Mohammed," 
asserted  Cardinal  Nicolaus  de  Cufa,  and  on  this  was 
founded  what  was  for  very  long  considered  a  most 
crushing  indictment.  In  the  present  day  the  author 
of  The  Reproach  of  Islam  can  say,  "  To  deny  Mohammed 
was  ever  to  Mohammed  an  even  more  unforgivable 
offence  than  to  deny  Allah  "  (p.  64). 

There  was  an  abominable  Latin  version  of  the 
Koran  by  Reteneuf  and  Hermon  Dalmata  (1550)  which 
rendered  a  verse,  "  God  and  the  angels  pray  for  the 
Prophet,"  while  in  truth  it  was  merely  the  Arabian 
way  of  saying,  as  men  do  to  this  day,  "  On  him  be 
blessings  and  peace"  (Sura  xxxiii.  56).  "  Verily  God 
and  His  angels  bless  the  Prophet  :  Bless  ye  him,  O 
believers,  and  salute  Him  with  salutations  of  peace." 
Bradwardin,  a  great  Christian  theologian,  charged 
Moslems  with  devil  worship,  "  Is  it  not  contained  in 
your  Koran  that  the  sun  rises  between  the  two  horns 
of  the  Devil,  and  therefore  those  who  worship  towards 
the  East  worship  the  Devil."  Then  it  was  asserted  that 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    311 

in  this  religion  the  devils  are  the  friends  of  God,  founded 
on  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  the  genii  (some  of  whom 
heard  the  Koran  read,  and  approved  the  doctrine 
contained  in  it)  are  neither  devils  nor  related  to  them 
(Sura  Ixxii.). 

A  cursory  glance  shows  that  the  same  methods 
of  criticism  have  been  used  towards  other  religions. 
The  Jewish  people,  though  they  had  the  holiest  in- 
stitutions and  laws,  could  not  escape  the  calumny  of 
opponents,  who  charged  them  with  many  things  which 
were  absolutely  false.  Tacitus  himself,  who  did  not 
lack  opportunities  of  consulting  the  Jews,  wrote  that  they 
were  expelled  from  Egypt  for  the  scab,  and  that  they 
consecrated  the  image  of  an  ass  which  had  taught  them 
to  overcome  their  thirst  and  cease  from  their  wander- 
ings. Plutarch  maliciously  related  that  a  sow  was 
honoured  among  the  Jews  as  their  teacher  in  sowing 
and  tilling,  and  that  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  was 
celebrated  in  honour  of  Bacchus,  that  the  very  Sabbath 
was  consecrated  to  that  divinity.  Rutilius  sneered  at 
the  Jewish  Sabbaths  as  "  cold  sabbaths  "  (Ex.  xxxv.  3), 
with  other  jests  about  their  laws. 

And  when  Christianity  arose,  what  a  hideous 
travesty  of  it  was  created  by  the  Jews.  The  God  of 
the  Christians  was  hoofed  like  an  ass ;  they  feasted  those 
who  were  to  be  initiated  on  a  young  child  covered 
over  with  flour  ;  they  threatened  the  early  destruction 
of  the  whole  world  with  fire  ;  after  they  had  ended 
their  most  solemn  Feasts  they  put  out  the  lights  and 
men  and  women  embraced  one  another  as  chance  guided 
— a  sort  of  calumny  which  is  always  introduced  under 
such  conditions. 

To  sum  up  in  the  words  of  Tertullian,  in  his  apology 


312        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

— "  the  Christians  were  counted  murderers,  incestuous, 
sacrilegious,  public  enemies  of  mankind,  guilty  of  all 
wickedness,  and  therefore  enemies  of  the  Gods,  of 
Emperors,  of  morality,  and  of  Universal  Nature  ;  so 
that  it  was  a  sufficient  crime  to  be  reckoned  a  Christian, 
and  that  very  name  made  them  guilty." 

It  is  true  that  Pliny  after  having  inquired  into  the 
Christian  religion  gave  a  very  different  account  of  it  to 
the  Emperor  Trajan.  There  were  others,  too,  who 
did  not  so  foully  misrepresent  the  Christians,  but  these 
were  few  in  number  compared  with  those  who  defamed 
the  Christian  faith. 

Just  as  time  has  put  these  charges  in  their  proper 
place,  so  I  believe  the  popular  errors  about  Islam  will 
in  the  face  of  a  just  and  sympathetic  study  fall  away. 
But  this  study  must  be  one  of  the  living  people,  and 
not  of  the  misleading  accounts  of  them  and  of  their 
beliefs  which  have  been  handed  down  and  elaborated 
from  age  to  age,  often  with  the  intention  of  making 
blacker  the  original  accusations  against  them. 

And  what  do  the  leaders  of  Islam,  and  what  does 
the  actual  experience  of  its  followers,  say  on  this  subject 
of  Fatalism  ?  A  leading  sheikh  with  whom  I  often 
discussed  this  matter  said — and  this  with  an  air  of 
sadness  with  which  he  always  approached  any  con- 
troversy between  the  two  religions — that  there  was  no 
more  warrant  for  this  charge  against  his  religion  than 
there  was  against  mine.  The  Koran  does  say,  "  Whom 
God  directs  he  is  led  into  the  right  way ;  whom  He 
leads  into  error  he  is  deserted,"  and  that  "  nothing  can 
befall  us  but  what  God  hath  prepared  for  us "  (Sura 
ix,  51).  But — and  he  turned  to  a  well-thumbed  Bible 
on  his  table — can  you  explain  these  words,  "  I  make 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    313 

peace  and  create  evil "  (Isa.  xlv.  7).  "  Shall  there 
be  evil  in  a  city  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done  it  "  (Amos 
iii.  6).  How  many  times  does  your  Book  tell  of  men 
being  caused  to  wander  from  the  right  way  of  salvation, 
"  for  the  Lord  thy  God  hardened  his  spirit,  and  made 
his  heart  obstinate  "  (Deut.  ii.  30).  And  your  Apostle 
Paul,  does  he  not  speak  of  the  Potter  who  shall  have 
power  over  the  lump  to  make  "  vessels  of  wrath  fitted 
to  destruction  "  (Rom.  ix.  22). 

"  By  why  continue  this  setting  of  text  against  text," 
said  the  sheikh.  "  No  religion  could  live  that  was 
bound  eternally  by  odd  passages  of  its  Holy  Book,  and 
lacked  that  spirit  which  can  expand  with  the  growing 
needs  of  men.  Of  this  I  am  certain  ;  if  the  Christian 
religion  has  found  it  possible  to  throw  off  such  shackles 
of  Fatalism  as  those  which  might  have  still  bound  it,  if 
it  had  detached,  say,  the  Ninth  Chapter  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  from  its  great  scheme  for  the  help  and 
salvation  of  mankind,  Islam  can  also  break  the  slighter 
shackles  which  her  enemies  so  persistently  enlarge  upon. 
But  let  us — and  this  with  a  kindly  smile — talk  of  other 
things."  Reminding  me  of  another  gentle  old  sheikh 
who  ended  a  similar  discussion  by  saying,  "  But  why 
dispute  ;  tell  me  your  excellent  names  of  God,  and  I 
will  tell  you  mine  !  " 

The  Moslem  rosary,  I  may  remark,  has  a  hundred 
beads,  and  pious  men  and  women  tell  over  the  ninety- 
nine  "  excellent  names  of  God,"  the  largest  bead  being  for 
the  name  of  Allah.  The  Prophet  said  it  was  "  a  good 
thing  to  keep  the  mouth  always  moist  with  the  praise 
of  God."  These  names  in  themselves  are  almost  enough 
to  refute  the  charge  of  fatalism.  They  are  ranged  in 
three  sections,  divided  in  the  rosary,  (i)  the  attributes 


VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

of  wisdom ;    (ii)   of    power ;    (iii)  of    goodness.      The 
rosary  is  called  Thirka,  or  remembrance. 

The  matter  was  stated  in  this  way  by  another 
Moslem  :  We  always  extol  the  holiness  of  God,  and  charge 
no  defect  to  Him.  We  say  that  God  directs  evil,  in  His 
providence,  but  does  not  please  Himself  in  it ;  we 
never  pronounce  Him  the  author  of  evil.  We  are 
unjustly  charged  with  this  opinion,  with  which  all  who 
maintain  the  absolute  providence  of  God  and  His 
independent  right  in  all  things,  are  wont  to  be  charged, 
as  indeed  Christians  have  been. 

Said  another  sheikh  :  You  know  that  our  Prophet — 
on  whom  be  blessings  and  peace — was,  of  all  things,  most 
certain  that  even  his  entrance  to  Paradise  depended  on 
the  mercy  of  God,  which  cannot  be  reconciled  with  any 
form  of  predestination.  One  of  our  chief  prayers  is  that 
for  Guidance  in  making  a  good  choice,  a  prayer  enjoined 
by  Mohammed  in  his  own  words ;  it  acknowledges  the 
omniscience  of  God,  and  goes  on — "  I  pray  Thee  to  be 
gracious  to  me,  for  Thou  art  mighty,  and  I  am  helpless 
.  .  .  give  me  what  is  good  for  me,  and  let  me  be  content 
with  it."  If  this  is  fatalism,  it  is  a  greatly  modified 
form  of  it. 

A  Moslem  friend  of  mine,  educated  in  England,  and 
himself  a  man  of  character  and  vigour,  told  me  of  the 
deep  impression  made  upon  his  mind  by  a  sermon  he 
heard,  in  a  Christian  church,  on  the  text  "  Take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow  ...  for  your  Heavenly  Father 
knoweth  ye  have  need."  "  That,"  he  said,  "  I  suggest 
with  deference,  is  the  sort  of  fatalism  that  you  preach 
but  the  Oriental  really  practises.  The  thought  of  the 
strenuous  nations,  so  intent,  not  alone  on  the  supply  of 
their  daily  needs,  but  of  provision  for  the  proverbial 


u 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    315 

rainy  day,  of  which  they  live  in  constant  anticipation 
and  dread,  and  with  their  struggles  for  what  they  call  a 
"  competency,"  these  are  not  the  people  who  sensibly 
consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  which  neither  toil  nor 
spin,  and  yet  are  clothed  in  beauty. 

Casual  observers  do  the  Arab  people  injustice  in 
reporting  that  the  constant  use  of  the  word  "  ma'alesh  " 
is  a  proof  of  fatalism.  It  has  many  meanings,  even  to 
being  used  as  the  courteous  word  of  apology  if  a  man 
accidentally  stumbles,  for  instance,  against  another. 

The  fact  is,  that  what  is  often  mistaken  for  the 
apathy  of  the  fatalist  in  the  East,  is  a  remarkable  degree 
of  resignation  and  fortitude.  "  Verily  to  God  we  be- 
long ;  and  verily  to  Him  we  return  !  "  are  the  heartfelt 
words  which  spring  with  childlike  faith  and  simplicity 
to  the  Moslem's  lips  in  the  face  of  the  tragedies  of  life, 
and  which  underlie  the  constant  use  of  that  word  "  ma'- 
alesh "  —do  not  think  of  it — with  which  the  Moslem 
encourages  serenity  of  mind  in  the  smaller,  as  in  the 
greater,  vexations  and  disappointments  of  life. 

But  how  misleading  to  the  casual  observer  the 
outward  air  of  stoicism  may  be  ;  I  have  been  with  these 
Eastern  men  in  times  of  deepest  sorrow,  and  I  have  seen 
the  heart  wrung,  and  the  bitter  tears  flow  while  they 
still  stammered  in  answer  to  inquiries,  "  Praise  be  to 
God  !  Our  Lord  is  bountiful !  "  I  was  witness  to  a 
scene  of  grief  so  poignant  and  so  passionate,  in  the 
privacy  of  one  of  the  house-tombs  under  the  Citadel  at 
Cairo,  to  which  only  intimate  friendship  admitted  me, 
that  the  memory  of  it  haunts  me  still.  And  yet  with 
sobs  one  of  my  friends  said  to  me  in  effect,  "  Never 
mind  ! — Ma'alesh  !  It  is  God's  will.  God's  will  be 
done  !  " 


316        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

It  is  for  the  same  reasons  that  the  Moslem  is  "  utterly 
devoid  of  presumption  with  regard  to  his  future  actions, 
or  to  any  future  events,"  always  adding,  "  If  it  be  the 
will  of  God  "  to  any  statement  of  future  plans  ;  or 
"  God  is  all-knowing,"  when  speaking  of  a  past  event  of 
which  he  is  not  certain. 

It  was  Yusef,  the  sheikh  at  Luxor,  who  reproved  a 
poor  Moslem  who  said,  when  his  elder  child  had  small- 
pox, it  was  min  Allah  (from  God),  and  neglected  to  at 
once  have  his  baby  vaccinated.  "  Oh,  man,  when  thou 
wouldst  build  a  house,  dost  thou  throw  the  bricks  in 
a  heap,  and  say  the  building  thereof  is  from  God,  or 
dost  thou  use  the  brains  and  hands  which  God  has  given 
thee,  and  then  pray  Him  to  bless  thy  work  ?  In  all 
things  do  the  best  of  thy  understanding  and  means, 
and  then  say  min  Allah,  for  the  end  is  with  Him." 

The  Prophet  once  asked  a  disciple  who  wished  to 
argue  the  question  of  Free  Will,  "  If  the  wall  against 
which  I  am  sitting  were  to  show  signs  of  falling,  shall 
I  sit  on  and  say  Allah  kereem,  or  should  I  use  the  legs 
God  has  given  me  to  escape  ?  J:  The  true  Moslem 
doctrine  is  "  Do  all  you  can,  and  be  resigned  to  what- 
ever is  the  result."  As  the  Arabic  proverb  has  it — 
"  Trust  in  God,  but  tether  your  camel  !  "  But  such 
discussions,  when  his  disciples 

"  Reasoned  high 

Of  Providence,  fore-knowledge,  will  and  fate, — 
Fired  fate,  free  will,  fore-knowledge  absolute — 
And  found  no  end,  in  wandering  mazes  lost," 

Mohammed  discouraged  as  profitless,  and  he  eventually 
forbade  them. 

It  is  an  invidious  thing,  as  I  have  before  remarked, 
to  criticise  a  book  which  has  become  so  deservedly  a 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    317 

classic  for  all  time,  but  even  Lane  can  sometimes,  in 
doctrinal  matters,  misrepresent  the  people  of  whom 
he  made  such  a  penetrating  study.  I  think  he  is  quite 
wrong  in  attributing  to  the  Moslems  such  a  degree 
of  belief  in  predestination  that  they  make  no  effort  at 
the  conversion  of  unbelievers — "  The  number  of  the 
faithful  is  decreed  by  God ;  and  no  act  of  man  can 
increase  or  diminish  it."  All  modern  history  is  against 
this  statement.  The  enormous  spread  of  Islam,  especi- 
ally in  pagan  lands  (the  testimony  of  Miss  Mary  Kingsley, 
as  one  amongst  many  travellers  in  Central  Africa,  is 
very  striking),  through  the  fact  that  "  every  Moslem  is 
a  missionary,"  is  causing  the  greatest  anxiety  and 
reproach  in  Christian  missionary  circles.  Although 
Lane  clothed  himself  and  lived  in  every  way  as  an 
Egyptian,  no  doubt  most  of  his  associates  knew  that  he 
was  a  Christian — or  at  any  rate  a  doubtful  Moslem — 
which  would  in  any  case  make  them  reticent  in  matters 
of  religion. 

That  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  the  Koran,  "  He  who 
saveth  a  soul  alive,  shall  be  as  if  he  had  saved  the  lives 
of  all  mankind  "  (Sura  v.  36  ;  Sale's  translation),  an 
excellent  text  for  a  missionary  sermon,  if  these  people 
allowed  themselves  the  use  of  detached  words  for  such 
a  purpose.  A  college  for  the  definite  training  of  mis- 
sionaries has  recently  been  started  in  Cairo  under  the 
highest  auspices,  the  aims  of  which  I  have  had  the 
opportunity  of  studying,  as  explained  to  me  by  the 
learned  sheikh  who  has  charge  of  the  work,  and  who, 
since  I  saw  him,  has  been  as  far  as  India  to  help  forward 
a  similar  missionary  movement  there.  Not  the  slightest 
suggestion  of  predestination  has  ever  arisen  to  impede 
this  work,  which  has  been  universally  supported  by 


3i 8        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

approval  and  by  generous  subscriptions.  Any  one 
interested  in  the  training  of  Christian  missionaries 
might  do  well  to  study  the  documents  in  which  the 
aims  and  methods  of  this  Moslem  College  are  set  forth. 
They  were  unreservedly  placed  in  my  hands,  and  I 
possess  an  English  translation. 

Deutsch  and  Renan  have  pointed  out  that  the 
Koran  does  not  clearly  determine  the  question  as  to 
how  far  men  are  free  agents,  acting  on  their  own  initi- 
ative, and  how  far  their  action  is  constrained  by  Allah  ; 
in  fact,  they  say,  it  speaks  in  popular  language,  some- 
times ascribing  all  action  to  Allah,  and  sometimes  to 
men's  own  agency.  How  many  Christian  writers  have 
said  practically  the  same  thing  of  the  Bible.  Canon 
Mozley,  in  his  Augustinian  Doctrine  of  Predestina- 
tion^ certainly  uses  very  similar  words. 

And  just  as  in  the  Bible  there  are  stirring  calls  in- 
numerable to  a  vigorous  pursuit  of  personal  righteous- 
ness, so  in  the  Koran,  Mohammed  gives,  over  and  over 
again,  injunctions  which  show  as  indisputably  as  can  be, 
that  nothing  was  further  from  his  mind  than  a  pious 
state  of  idle  and  hopeless  inanity  and  stagnation.  The 
rich  recompense  is  to  the  strenuous  and  not  to  those 
who  sit  at  home  at  ease  (Sura  iv.  97)  :  a  teaching  which 
was  repeated,  and  put  into  its  noblest  practice,  by  all 
Mohammed's  early  followers  ;  which  Ali  signalised  in 
that  passionate  call  to  effort — "  I  marvel  that  any  man 
of  you  can  be  slothful,  seeing  that  death  pursues  him  !  " 


CHAPTER   V 

WHAT   THE    MOSLEMS   THINK   OF   THE   LORD    JESUS    CHRIST 

"  It  was  barren  in  winter,  'tis  barren  in  spring, 
And  barren  man's  heart  is,  till  grace  intervene, 
And,  crushing  it,  clothe  the  long  barren  with  green. 
When  the  fresh  breath  of  Jesus  shall  touch  the  heart's  core, 
It  will  live,  it  will  breathe,  it  will  blossom  once  more." 

Jalaluddin  Rumi  (the  Moslem  thirteenth-century  poet). 

IT  has,  I  think,  never  been  realised  what  a  thrill  of  horror 
ran  through  the  educated  Islamic  East  at  the  report, 
given  in  the  Times  of  28th  September  1911,  that  the 
Bishop  of  London  had  declared  that  Islam  "  denies 
and  casts  out  the  name  of  Christ  as  evil." 

This  was  in  a  speech  in  the  Albert  Hall,  London, 
at  the  public  valedictory  meeting  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society.  The  Bishop  was  at  once  criticised 
by  such  men  as  Professor  Margoliouth,  who,  though  in 
many  ways  an  adverse  critic  of  Islam,  yet  knew  how 
unjustifiable  such  a  charge  as  this  was.  The  Bishop's 
answer  was  that  he  was  summarising  the  following 
passage  from  The  Reproach  of  Islam,  by  the  Rev. 
W.  H.  T.  Gairdner.  "Point  by  point  each  truth 
of  Christianity,  steeped  through  with  the  tenderness 
of  the  love  of  God,  is  negated  with  abhorrence 
by  Islam ;  the  Fatherhood  of  God  ;  the  Sonship  and 
Incarnation  of  Jesus  Christ ;  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  the  death  of  Christ  and  all  that  it  means, 
whether  ethically — of  love,  infinite  tenderness,  infinite 

self-sacrifice  ;  or  spiritually — of  sin  condemned  and  sin 

319 


320        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

forgiven  ;  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  on  the  third  day ; 
His  glorification  with  the  Father  with  the  glory  which 
he  had  with  Him  before  the  world  was, — each  several 
truth  of  these  truths  is  a  blasphemy  in  the  eyes  of  every 
Moslem,  a  lie  which  Islam  came  expressly  to  blast,  taught 
by  a  book  which  the  Koran  came  expressly  to  replace  " 
(p.  312). 

Being  in  Cairo  at  the  time,  I  was  in  a  position,  from 
my  intimacy  with  the  leading  men  of  the  Islamic  world 
there,  to  know  how  deeply  they  were  distressed  as  well 
as  astonished  by  such  a  charge.  As  the  object  of  my 
stay  in  Egypt  was  to  give,  as  far  as  I  could,  the  Moslems 
a  chance  of  stating  for  themselves  their  religious  tenets 
and  opinions,  I  took  every  opportunity,  not  only  of 
questioning  the  chief  sheikhs,  from  the  sheikh  Al  Azar 
downwards,  but  of  eliciting  the  views  of  the  average 
layman,  as  to  the  position  held  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  their  religion. 

Put  in  simple  language,  freed  from  religious  sophistry, 
and  detached  from  a  great  mass  of  traditional  lore 
which  gathered  at  a  later  date  about  the  subject,  the 
belief  of  Islam  about  our  Lord  is,  that  he  was  born  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  conceived  by  an  act  of  Divine  Will 
(Sura  iii.  52),  coming  to  the  world  as  the  Spirit  of 
God  and  the  Word  of  Truth  (Sura  iv.  69).  "  To 
Jesus,  Son  of  Mary,  gave  we  clear  proofs  of  His  mission, 
and  strengthened  Him  by  the  Holy  Spirit  "  (Sura  ii.  81). 

But  that  God  had  a  Son  they  do  not,  of  course, 
believe  ;  "  He  begetteth  not,  neither  is  He  begotten  " 
(Sura  cxii.)  is  the  first  article  of  their  faith — "  there  is 
but  one  God."  Nevertheless  the  Moslems  have  a 
profound  admiration  for  the  life  of  Jesus,  of  which,  to 
my  knowledge,  many  of  them  read,  in  the  Gospels. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    321 

I  have  heard  a  thoughtful  Moslem  say  (I  do  not  suggest 
that  this  is  general)  that  he  felt  esteem  for  "our  Lord 
Jesus,  on  whom  be  blessings  and  peace,"  when  he  thought 
of  His  pure  and  gentle  life  and  example,  above  that 
which  he  felt  for  the  Prophet,  whom  all  Moslems  so 
deeply  venerate.  It  was  to  confirm  the  former  Prophets, 
he  said,  and  to  add  to  their  "  books,"  that  Mohammed 
was  appointed. 

No  charge  is  more  common  than  to  say  that  the 
Moslems  despise  the  Gospel,  declaring  that  it  has  been 
corrupted  by  Christians.  But  their  contention  is  (I 
found  this  again  and  again)  that  the  scriptures  have 
been  misinterpreted  and  misunderstood  rather  than 
corrupted.  The  general  belief  of  the  authorities  is 
that  expressed  by  Ibn  Abbas,  who  said,  "  there  is  no 
man  who  could  corrupt  a  single  word  of  what  proceeded 
from  God."  The  words  of  God  must  stand,  but  their 
meaning  could  be  misrepresented.  And  even  Mr. 
Zwemer  admits  that  "  thousands  of  Mohammedans 
now,  however,  say  the  Bible  is  not  corrupted,  and  read 
it  willingly  and  gladly." 

The  sheikh  Al  Azar  was  specially  anxious  that  I 
should  see  the  copy  of  the  Psalms  which  is  in  the  Uni- 
versity Library,  and  is  constantly  read  by  students. 
He  reminded  me  that  the  Psalms  are  mentioned  twice 
in  the  Koran,  once  with  a  quotation — "  My  servants, 
the  righteous,  shall  inherit  the  earth  "  (Sura  xxi.  105). 

Next  to  Mohammed,  Jesus  is  the  greatest  of  all  the 
Prophets ;  the  one  sinless  Prophet  of  Islam,  alone  of  all 
those  mentioned  in  the  Koran,  as  free  from  guilt. 
Mohammed  acknowledges  his  own  unrighteousness  in 
many  passages.  To  Jesus  are  attributed  the  power 
to  perform  miracles,  while  Mohammed  distinctly  re- 

21 


322        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

pudiated  the  suggestion  that  he  himself  possessed  such 
power,  declaring  again  and  again  to  his  followers,  "  I 
am  only  a  man  like  you  "  (Sura  xli.  5).  "  Mohammed 
is  no  more  than  an  apostle  "  (Sura  iii.  138).  "  Guidance 
is  not  with  Mohammed,  but  with  God  "  (Sura  ii.  274). 
The  exact  terms  of  reverence  which  always  preface  the 
mention  of  the  name  of  the  Prophet  are  used  when  the 
name  of  Jesus  is  spoken,  and  the  Mother  of  Jesus  is 
always  called  "  Our  Mistress  Mary." 

It  is  useless,  I  suppose,  to  speculate  what  might 
have  been  the  development  of  Islam  if  Mohammed  had 
been  acquainted  with  a  pure  Christianity,  instead  of 
the  corrupt  travesty  of  it,  which  was  known  in  Arabia 
in  his  time.  The  Christians  of  that  day  were,  as 
Professor  Palmer  puts  it,  forgetful  alike  of  the  old  re- 
velation and  of  the  new,  and,  neglecting  the  teachings 
of  their  master,  were  split  up  into  numerous  sects — 
"  Homoousians  and  Homoiousians,  Monothelites  and 
Monophysites,  Jacobites  and  Eutychians,"  and  the  like, 
who  had  little  in  common  but  the  name  of  Christian 
and  the  bitter  hatred  with  which  they  regarded  each 
other. 

The  misconception  of  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  which  was  prevalent  in  Arabia,  and  the  only 
one  with  which  Mohammed  was  acquainted,  was  that  it 
meant  nothing  more  nor  less  than  tritheism,  and  these 
three  were  God  the  Father,  the  Virgin-Mother,  and 
the  Son  of  God. 

The  apostasy  constantly  urged  by  Mohammed  against 
the  Jews  is  their  rejection  of  Jesus ;  and  the  Moslems 
maintain  that  those  who  believe  in  Jesus,  both  Moslems 
and  Christians,  must  for  ever  prevail  against  the  Jews, 
both  in  argument  and  in  arms.  It  is  because  of  this, 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    323 

says  Al  Beidawi,  that  the  Jews  to  this  very  day  have 
never  overcome  the  Christians  or  Moslems,  having  no 
kingdom  or  established  government  of  their  own. 

The  Moslems  do  not  believe  in  the  death  of  Jesus 
upon  the  Cross  :  "  They  crucified  Him  not,  but 
another  who  was  made  to  appear  to  them  like  Him  .  .  . 
God  took  Jesus  up  to  Himself"  (Sura  iv.  156).  But 
they  further  maintain,  with  the  Christians,  that  Jesus 
is  their  promised  Messiah.  As  the  learned  sheikh 
Rashid  Rida  (editor  of  the  review  Al-Manar)  put  it 
to  me,  after  he  had  spoken  of  the  deep  reverence  all 
Moslems  have  for  Christ — "  It  is  universally  held  that 
Jesus — on  whom  be  blessings  and  peace — will  come 
again  forty-five  years  before  the  end  of  the  world,  and 
will  restore  peace  and  harmony  in  the  earth,  even  to 
the  extent  of  reconciling  men  and  the  wild  beasts, — the 
lion  shall  lie  down  with  the  lamb,  and  the  serpent  shall 
be  the  playmate  of  children.  By  the  side  of  our 
Prophet's  grave  in  Medina,  the  most  sacred  spot  we 
have,  a  place  is  reserved  for  the  burial  of  Jesus,  when 
he  eventually  dies,  as  we  think  he  will,  before  the  Day 
of  Judgment.  I  am,  as  you  know,  a  follower  of  the 
rational  views  of  the  late  sheikh  Mohammed  Abdu, 
and  I  believe,  as  many  Moslems  do,  that  it  is  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  which  will  at  the  latter  end  pervade  the  whole 
earth  and  bring  the  blessings  spoken  of  in  the  Bible." 

"  How  could  the  Bishop  of  London,"  he  asked  me, 
"  have  been  so  misled  as  to  say  that  Islam  casts  out  the 
name  of  Christ  as  evil  ?  Was  it  not  significant,"  he 
asked,  "  that  it  was  from  the  writings  of  a  missionary 
that  the  Bishop  got  his  ideas  ?  This  same  missionary," 
continued  the  sheikh,  "  said  that  even  the  little  Arab 
boy,  in  the  utter  hatred  of  the  faith  of  Christ,  is  taught  to 


324        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

defile  the  Cross  which  he  has  drawn  in  the  sand  !  Where 
did  Mr.  Gairdner  learn  of  such  a  thing  ?  Has  he  merely 
echoed  it  from  that  other  critic  of  Islam  who  stops  at 
little  in  his  efforts  to  defame  it — Samuel  M.  Zwemer  ? 
(The  defiling  of  the  Cross  was  first  mentioned  in  Islam  : 
a  Challenge  to  Faith.)  Speaking  generally,  Moslems  are 
as  little  affected  by  any  dislike  of  the  sign  of  the  Cross 
as  Christians  are  by  that  of  the  Crescent." 

I  can  speak  from  personal  knowledge  of  the  fact 
that  in  Tunisia  the  special  tattoo  mark  on  the  face  is  a 
small  cross  on  one  of  the  temples,  and  by  this  a  Tunisian 
can  be  invariably  recognised  in  any  part  of  the  world. 
Some  of  the  nomad  tribes  of  the  Sahara  use  the  cross 
as  a  decoration  for  their  stuffs  and  their  weapons.  Leo 
Africanus  recorded  that  in  his  day  all  the  mountaineers 
of  Algeria  and  Bougia,  though  Moslems,  painted  black 
crosses  on  their  cheeks  and  the  palms  of  the  hands 
(Ramusio,  p.  61). 

General  Gordon  knew  the  Moslem  people  perhaps 
as  well  as  any  man  has  ever  done — not  the  people  of  the 
city  merely,  but  of  the  almost  inaccessible  parts  of  the 
Sudan  as  well  as  of  China.  When  he  was  writing  his 
last  diary  at  Khartoum  he  was  surrounded  by  men  who 
could  by  no  means  have  shown  their  religion  at  its  best ; 
he  was  there  to  oppose  one  of  the  most  fanatical  and 
successful  risings  of  barbarian  tribes  of  recent  times,  led 
by  a  man  who  claimed  to  be  the  Madhi  expected  of 
Islam.  But  the  following  passage  should  be  pondered 
by  all  those  who  honestly  desire  to  understand  the 
people  of  this  faith,  and  who  might  by  virtue  of  their 
office  be  concerned  to  encourage  and  stimulate  them, 
rather  than  to  criticise  and  condemn.  This  is  what 
Gordon  wrote  : — 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    325 

"  I  am  sure  it  is  unknown  to  the  generality  of  our 
missionaries  in  Moslem  countries,  that,  in  the  Koran, 
no  imputation  of  sin  is  made  to  our  Lord  ;  neither  is 
it  hinted  that  He  had  need  of  pardon  ;  and,  further,  no 
Moslem  can  deny  that  the  Father  of  our  Lord  was 
God  (vide  chapter  of  the  Koran)  and  that  He  was  in- 
carnated by  a  miracle.  Our  bishops  content  themselves 
with  its  being  a  false  religion,  but  it  is  a  false  religion 
possessed  by  millions  on  millions  of  our  fellow-creatures. 
The  Moslems  do  not  say  that  Mohammed  was  without 
sin  ;  the  Koran  often  acknowledged  that  he  erred,  but 
no  Moslem  will  say  '  Jesus  sinned.'  As  far  as  self-sacrifice 
of  the  body,  they  are  far  above  the  Roman  Catholics,  and 
consequently  above  Protestants  .  .  .  the  God  of  the 
Moslems  is  our  God."  (Entry  made  in  the  diary  on 
1 2th  September  1884.) 

How  different  a  temper  is  this  from  that  exhibited 
in  the  writings  of  such  a  man  as  the  Rev.  W.  St.  Clair- 
Tisdall,  in  his  anxiety  to  miss  no  opportunity  of  con- 
firming the  unsympathetic  and  antagonistic  views  of 
Islam  which  seem  to  be  so  acceptable  to  English  readers. 
This  missionary  gentleman  immediately  wrote  not  only 
to  partly  confirm  the  Bishop  of  London's  original 
statement,  but  to  produce  a  mass  of  the  absurd  legends 
and  traditions  which  gathered  round  this  subject  in 
the  earlier  days  of  Islam.  Puerilities  which,  it  might 
be  allowed,  are  no  more  to  be  laid  at  the  door  of  true 
Moslems,  than  Protestant  Christians  are  to  be  held 
accountable  for  the  fabulous  legends  of  the  "  Fathers 
of  the  Church  "  and  of  the  Christian  mystics,  which 
gathered  about  the  pure  faith  of  Christ. 

It  was  in  the  same  number  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Review  (November  1911)  which  contained  the  Bishop's 


326        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

speech,  and  his  explanation,  that  this  writer  gathered 
a  mass  of  this  nonsense  with  apparently  no  object  but 
to  prove  that  the  Moslems  have  no  true  knowledge  of 
Jesus,  but  are  irrevocably  committed  to  a  hideous 
travesty  of  Him.  And  in  drawing  the  caricature  which 
he  presents,  he  considers  himself  justified  in  quoting 
from  the  mass  of  Moslem  traditions,  good  and  bad, 
with  little  or  no  regard  to  the  degree  of  credence  they 
obtain  from  intelligent  Moslems  themselves.  He  forgets 
entirely  that  these  fables  concerning  the  life  and  miracles 
of  our  Lord  are  seldom  or  never  of  Mohammedan 
invention,  but  may  generally  be  traced  to  the  Apocryphal 
Gospels  and  other  spurious  remains  of  Christian  anti- 
quity. And  he  seems  quite  oblivious  to  the  considera- 
tion that  such  treatment  on  the  part  of  a  Christian, 
instead  of  opening  the  way  for  a  more  exalted  teaching 
of  the  mission  of  our  Lord's  life  and  death,  has  the 
effect  of  exciting  an  antagonism  in  the  Moslem  mind 
which  diminishes — if  it  does  not  entirely  close  the  door 
to — the  appeal  which  might  be  founded  on  a  mutual 
reverence  for  Him. 

The  enlightened  Moslem  rejects  the  greater  part  of 
these  fables  and  traditions,  being  so  far  in  agreement 
with  Mr.  Tisdall  as  to  call  them  "  a  mass  of  rubbish." 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  every  impartial  historian  should  bring 
to  these  traditional  records  of  the  Prophet's  sayings 
and  doings  the  patient  care  with  which  all  such  docu- 
ments are  treated  if  they  are  to  yield  the  precious 
information  they  hold,  and  not  to  be  made  mere  vulgar 
weapons  of  offence. 

His  article  was  translated  and  submitted  to  several 
learned  sheikhs — for  there  is  a  large  committee  in  Cairo 
which  regularly  considers  the  criticisms  of  Islam  in 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    327 

the  European  and  American  press.  Almost  every 
tradition  on  which  Mr.  Tisdall  has  drawn  for  his  picture 
of  the  Moslem  Jesus  is  in  the  category  of  those  regarded 
as  doubtful.  The  late  Grand  Mufti  (chief  religious 
judge)  of  Egypt,  pronounced  them  to  be  "  untrue." 
Bitter  indignation  was  expressed  that  such  writers  as 
this  leave  out  all  the  more  spiritual  details  of  the  Moslem 
beliefs,  in  which  they  agree  with  the  Christians,  while 
they  exaggerate  every  mean  detail  which  has  crept  into 
the  Oriental  imaginative  writing,  and  that  they  always 
seek  to  engender  prejudice  in  the  Western  mind  by 
the  statement  (made  by  Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  even  in 
this  article  on  Jesus)  that  Moslems  are  still  "  bound 
(when  strong  enough)  to  oppose  the  followers  of  Jesus 
with  the  sword,  fighting  in  the  Way  of  God  (the  Jihad) 
until  all  Christians  are  slain,  or  have  been  compelled 
to  accept  Islam,  or  have  paid  tribute  out  of  hand  and 
are  brought  low."  Which  statement  of  the  Jihad 
many  Moslems  declared  to  me  to  be  perverse  and 
misleading,  in  the  face  of  the  facts  which  have  often 
been  explained.  I  deal  with  the  Jihad  in  another 
place. 

One  of  the  Al  Azar  sheikhs  expressed  the  greatest 
indignation  at  the  tone  of  all  the  writings  on  Islam  by 
Mr.  Tisdall.  He  asked  me  what  could  be  said  of  a  man 
who,  in  dealing  with  the  early  sufferings  of  Mohammed 
before  he  was  convinced  of  his  mission,  sneers  at  what 
even  Muir  admits  were  the  genuine  strivings  after 
Truth.  The  Prophet  used  to  retire  to  the  hills — to  a 
spot  described  to  me  by  a  pilgrim  who  had  visited  it  as 
one  of  awful  bareness  and  loneliness — "  to  seek  relief 
in  meditation  and  prayer,"  which  this  critic  takes 
upon  himself,  for  the  first  time,  to  say  was  but  taking 


328         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

himself  to  the  mountains  for  a  month's  change  of  air 
and  scene  (Religion  of  the  Crescent,  p.  146). 

As  I  was  desirous  of  finding  what  is  the  authoritative 
rule  in  the  acceptance  of  these  traditions  of  Islam,  I  took 
the  opportunity  of  discussing  it  with  all  the  ulema  of 
Al  Azar  University,  and  other  authorities.  The  kernel 
of  the  question  is  the  saying  of  the  Prophet  himself  to 
Moaz  ibn  Gebel,  who  was  sent  to  Yemen  by  Mohammed 
as  a  religious  judge. 

"  By  what  rules  are  you  going  to  judge  amongst 
the  people  ?  "  asked  the  Prophet,  to  test  him. 

"  First,  by  the  Book  of  God ;  second,  by  the  Tradi- 
tions of  the  Prophet,"  he  replied. 

"  But,"  questioned  the  Prophet,  "  if  the  matter  is 
not  found  in  the  Book  of  God,  or  in  the  Traditions  ?  " 

"  Then,"  he  said,  "  I  will  try  to  make  a  just  judgment 
according  to  reason." 

An  answer  which  pleased  the  Prophet.  It  was  thus 
early  settled  that  the  first  rule  is  to  consult  the  Koran ; 
the  second,  Tradition  ;  then  those  decisions  on  which 
the  great  Imams  are  agreed  ;  and  then  Precedent.  The 
Prophet  said  that  no  one  was  obliged  to  regard  a  Tradi- 
tion which  did  not  agree  with  the  Koran. 

One  of  the  four  great  Imams  of  Islam,  Abu  Hanifa 
(767  A.D.),  laid  down  this  law,  to  which  the  other  chief 
Imams  agreed.  "  We  select  first  from  the  Koran,  then 
from  the  Traditions,  then  from  the  decrees  of  the 
companions  of  the  Prophet.  What  the  companions 
agreed  upon  has  great  weight  with  us ;  and  where  they 
doubt,  we  doubt."  The  Grand  Mufti  still  considers 
this  a  good  rule. 

As  the  modern  reformers  say,  the  religion  of  Islam 
began  by  being  very  simple,  for  in  the  first  century  of 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    329 

the  Hijrah  all  the  religious  knowledge  the  believers 
possessed  consisted  of  the  Koran,  and  the  necessary 
explanations  which  had  been  given  by  Mohammed. 
One  seems  to  see  an  exact  counterpart  of  the  course  of 
early  Christianity  in  the  fact  that  when  theological 
schools  were  developed — at  one  time  one  hundred  and 
twenty  learned  professors  were  lecturing  at  Bagdad  on 
dogmatical  and  legal  subjects — the  teaching  of  a  spiritual 
religion  and  an  inward  piety  was  almost  forgotten. 

In  one  of  the  latest  books  on  Islam,  written  by  an 
educated  Moslem,  the  author,  Mohammed  Badr,  says, 
"  When  in  any  case  tradition  and  the  intellectual 
appreciation  of  a  matter  clash,  then  is  tradition  to  be 
put  aside  and  the  individual  opinion  followed."  I 
referred  his  passage  to  some  of  the  ulema,  however,  and 
they  thougjit  the  freedom  claimed  was  too  great  for 
safety.  When  there  is  such  a  conflict  between 
reason  and  tradition,  they  agreed,  the  Moslem  should 
seek  the  advice  of  some  learned  man  who  is  versed  in 
the  teachings  of  the  great  Imams,  before  finally  judging  ; 
otherwise  every  man  would  be  a  law  unto  himself,  and 
the  ignorant  would  do  much  harm.  In  this  as  in  every 
other  matter,  however,  they  are  forbidden  by  the  Holy 
Koran  to  interfere  with  the  consciences  of  men.;  or 
to  put  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  reasonable  private 
judgment. 

There  is  in  Cairo  a  school — allied  to  Al  Azar — for 
the  training  of  Cadis — or  religious  judges  ;  to  my  mind, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  institutions  in  Egypt,  where 
the  best  modern  methods  of  education  are  being  added 
to  the  religious  teaching  first  gained  at  Al  Azar  itself, 
under  an  educated  and  enlightened  sheikh  who  was 
trained  in  England.  A  general  rule  of  interpretation 


330        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

for  these  students  is  that,  while  the  Koran  is  the  funda- 
mental part  of  the  law,  the  tribunals  must  study  to 
reconcile  equity  and  reason,  rather  than  follow  a  pedantic 
or  patristic  line. 

Such  is  the  affection  and  reverence  for  our  Lord 
Jesus,  that  I  think  it  should  be  the  desire  of  every  man 
who  goes  to  the  Moslems  with  the  Christian  message, 
to  encourage  it,  and,  while  refraining  from  saying  a 
single  word  which  can  wound  them  in  relation  to  a 
matter  so  sacred  to  them,  seek  quiet  ways  of  developing 
their  knowledge  of  that  one  Perfect  Life. 

Of  all  men  we  Christians  are  the  last  who  should 
seek  to  stereotype  for  them  the  mass  of  tradition,  when- 
ever we  see  a  disposition  on  their  part  to  free  themselves 
from  it;  or  to  sneer  at  the  reformers  as  "unorthodox  " 
who  so  ardently  desire  to  bring  about  a  moral  revival. 
What  does  not  Protestant  England  and  America  owe  to 
reformers  whom  the  Church  would  have  suppressed 
for  their  unorthodoxy  ? 

It  is  a  deeply  significant  thing  that  one  of  the  old 
Deys  of  Algiers,  in  an  audience  he  gave  to  a  Jesuit 
priest  who  was  seeking  the  redemption  of  slaves, 
showed  him  a  copy  of  The  Imitation  of  Christ  printed 
in  the  Turkish  language,  adding  that  "  he  valued  it 
more  than  the  Koran."  In  the  reign  of  Solyman  i. 
a  chief  of  the  ulemas,  Sheikh  Cabiz,  suffered  martyr- 
dom rather  than  renounce  his  predilection  for  the 
Gospel. 

In  Egypt,  my  wife  and  I,  in  calling  one  day  on  an 
enlightened  Moslem  friend,  whose  family  we  knew 
quite  well,  were  both  admitted  to  the  hareem,  by  the 
mother's  permission,  as  a  special  mark  of  confidence  in 
me.  One  of  the  daughters  was  engaged  on  some  remark- 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    331 

able  embroidery.  Our  surprise  and  pleasure  may  be 
imagined,  when  we  found  that  the  subject  of  one 
beautiful  piece  of  work  was  a  picture  of  the  Good 
Shepherd,  drawn  by  herself  after  reading  the  story  in 
the  New  Testament,  which  had  greatly  impressed  her. 

The  incident  brought  to  my  mind  an  anecdote, 
related  by  Hottinger,  of  a  Bohemian  Jew  who  actually 
became  a  convert  to  Christianity  in  consequence  of 
convictions  awakened  in  his  mind  by  Moslem  teachers, 
during  a  long  captivity  with  the  Turks. 


CHAPTER   VI 

BELIEFS  AS  TO   THE   EQUALITY  AND  BROTHERHOOD   OF   MAN 

"  Islam  taught  the  people  sobriety,  temperance,  charity,  justice  and 
equality  as  the  commandments  of  God.  Its  affirmation  of  the  principle 
of  equality  of  man  and  man  and  its  almost  socialistic  tendency  repre- 
sented the  same  phase  of  thought  that  had  found  expression  on  the 
shores  of  Galilee." 

Ameer  Ali  Syed,  M.A.,  The  Spirit  of  Islam,  p.  160. 

"  TAKE  away  that  black  man  !  "  exclaimed  the  Christian 
Archbishop  Cyrus,  "  I  can  have  no  discussion  with 
him  !  "  when  the  Arab  conquerors  had  sent  a  deputation 
of  their  ablest  men  to  discuss  terms  of  surrender  of  the 
capital  of  Egypt,  headed  by  the  negro  Ubadah,  as  the 
ablest  of  them  all. 

To  the  scared  archbishop's  astonishment,  he  was 
told  that  this  man  was  commissioned  by  the  General 
Amr  ;  that  the  Moslems  held  negroes  and  white  men 
in  equal  respect — judging  a  man  by  his  character  and 
not  by  his  colour. 

"  Well,  if  the  negro  must  lead,  he  must  speak  gently," 
ordered  the  prelate,  so  as  not  to  frighten  his  white 
auditors. 

The  reply  of  the  negro  shows  the  spirit  of  those 
early  conquerors. 

"  There  are  a  thousand  blacks,  as  black  as  myself, 
amongst  our  companions.  I  and  they  would  be  ready 
each  to  meet  and  fight  a  hundred  enemies  together. 
We  live  only  to  fight  for  God,  and  to  follow  His  will. 
We  care  naught  for  wealth,  so  long  as  we  have  where- 


332 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM     333 

withal  to  stay  our  hunger  and  to  clothe  our  bodies.  This 
world  is  naught  to  us,  the  next  world  is  all  !  " 

The  spirit  of  the  Christian  Cyrus  prevails  to  this  day. 
Quite  recently  I  heard  an  English  officer  dismiss  a  Cairo 
cabman  who  had  responded  to  the  Turf  Club  call,  saying 
indignantly  to  his  friend  and  to  the  porter,  "  Why,  he's 
a  black  beggar."  A  very  few  years  since  a  number  of 
students  of  Edinburgh  University  refused  the  regular 
invitation  of  a  Professor  to  tea  on  Sunday  afternoon,  if 
another  student  were  included — merely  because  he  was 
a  Negro.  It  is  pleasant  to  record  that  the  Professor 
stood  by  his  dusky  friend,  gaining  for  him,  eventually, 
equality  of  social  treatment.  The  fact  should  not  be 
lost  sight  of  that  only  one  in  eight  of  the  people  of  the 
British  Empire  are  white. 

It  is  certainly  to  the  East  that  one  must  come  to 
understand  absolute  equality — a  principle,  however, 
which  I  fear  the  English  people  are  especially  incapable 
of  understanding,  under  any  circumstances.  The 
nature  of  the  gulf  which  is  made  to  separate  the  people 
of  the  Orient  from  Europeans  is  never  realised  or  under- 
stood by  Moslems,  and  I  believe  that  to  this  cause  is 
due  the  greater  part  of  the  personal  misunderstanding 
which  makes  our  rule  so  difficult  in  Egypt.  As  for  the 
gulf  which  snobbery  and  class  distinction  make  to  separ- 
ate English  people  from  each  other,  this  is  still  more 
incomprehensible  to  the  Oriental  mind. 

I  have  talked  with  a  sheikh  of  pure  Arab  descent, 
now  holding  a  very  dignified  position  in  Cairo,  a  man 
of  great  learning  in  the  history  and  religion  of  Islam, 
who  has  with  much  gentleness  asked  me  to  explain  our 
Christian  principles  in  the  matter  of  brotherhood,  as 
he  could  in  no  way  understand  them  from  what  he 


334        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

saw  of  the  Englishmen  in  Egypt  and  the  Sudan,  as  com- 
pared with  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament. 

This  story  was  told  me  of  this  very  gentleman — he 
did  not  tell  it  himself,  or  refer  to  it — but  it  came  from 
a  mutual  friend.  When  the  sheikh  was  occupying  a 
chief  position  in  the  Sudan,  as  a  Cadi,  he  had  occasion 
to  travel  from  Khartoum  to  Cairo  by  rail.  Having  a 
first-class  ticket,  he  was  sitting  in  one  of  the  open  saloons 
which  are  the  rule  of  the  Sudan  State  Railway,  when 
an  Englishman  of  the  monocled  type  entered.  After 
staring  rudely,  he  rang  the  bell,  and  informed  the  guard 
that  he  objected  to  travelling  with  "  a  native." 

Gentlemen  of  the  sheikh  class,  it  should  be  explained, 
always  wear  the  turban  and  long  robes  of  the  East. 
The  sheikh,  when  asked  to  leave  the  saloon  for  his  private 
apartment  (set  apart  for  sleeping  and  useable  by  day), 
refused  ;  he  had  a  ticket  entitling  him  to  travel  in  this 
part  of  the  train.  The  Englishman  now  became  angry, 
and  doggedly  insistent,  and  after  much  argument,  in 
which  he  was  insulting  to  the  sheikh,  he  found  that  the 
only  way  to  enjoy  the  car  free  from  this  person  to  whom 
he  objected,  was  to  pay  for  most  of  the  seats  and  so 
reserve  the  whole  car.  Can  it  be  believed  that  this 
man  actually  paid  £20  for  the  purpose  of  driving  an 
Egyptian  out  of  the  general  saloon  ! 

The  mischief  of  that  one  insolent  act  will  never  be 
measured.  It  is  things  like  this  that  rankle,  and  breed 
obstacles  to  our  rule  which  those  who  have  to  face 
them  are  at  a  loss  sometimes  to  understand. 

Such  a  spirit  of  class  distinction  is  certainly  the 
greatest  hindrance  to  missionary  work  in  the  East,  as 
every  impartial  observer  has  noted.  How,  for  instance, 
can  any  other  appeal  stand  against  that  of  the  Moslem 


Photo\  {Lekegian,  Cairo. 

ONE  OF  THE  SPLENDID  FOUNTAINS  WHICH  ARE  FOUND  AT  ALMOST  EVERY  TURN 
IN  THE  STREETS  OF  CAIRO. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    335 

who,  in  approaching  the  pagan,  says  to  him,  however 
obscure  or  degraded  he  may  be,  "  embrace  the  faith, 
and  you  are  at  once  an  equal  and  a  brother."  Islam 
knows  no  "  colour  line."  There  is  great  reluctance — or 
racial  incapacity  almost — in  Western  missionary  advo- 
cates to  acknowledge  class  distinction  as  the  almost 
insurmountable  obstacle  to  Christian  advance  in  vast 
regions  where  Islam  is  conquering.  This  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Tisdall  can  even  go  so  far  as  to  claim 
for  Christianity,  as  a  superior  merit,  the  sole  propaga- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Mankind, 
ignoring  that  it  was  under  Islam  that  so  much  was 
done  to  break  up  the  feudal  system  of  Europe  by 
admitting  no  privilege  or  caste  in  the  regions  which 
it  conquered  (Note  12). 

In  pagan  Arabia  the  people  took  a  pertinacious 
delight  in  endless  genealogies,  and  boasted  provokingly 
to  each  other  of  nothing  so  much  as  noble  ancestors. 
"  We  disregarded  every  feeling  of  humanity,  and  the 
duties  of  hospitality  and  neighbourhood,"  was  their 
own  description  of  their  state  before  "  God  raised 
among  them  a  man  who  called  them  to  better  things." 

There  can  be  no  question  of  the  teaching  of  the 
Koran  on  the  subject  of  equality,  a  teaching  which 
dictates  the  conduct,  as  I  have  found,  of  the  humblest 
Moslem  in  the  desert  to  the  Governor  of  a  province  ; 
equality  is  as  naturally  taken  for  granted  by  the  one  as 
by  the  other.  In  the  Egyptian  village  the  fellah  is  not 
my  inferior,  but  a  poor  brother  ;  there  is  an  actual 
equality  strong  and  real  enough  to  override  the  greatest 
inequality  of  position.  As  in  the  earliest  days,  priority 
in  the  faith  and  spiritual  eminence  in  the  brotherhood 
of  Islam  are  the  only  real  claims  to  distinction  ;  martial 


336        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

prowess,  and  descent,  being  of  course  a  great  claim  in 
the  days  of  conquest. 

"  The  most  worthy  of  honour  in  the  sight  of  God  is 
he  who  feareth  Him  most,"  says  the  Koran  ;  the  first 
words  Mohammed  spoke  to  the  people  of  Mecca,  after 
that  tremendous  act  of  his  in  destroying  all  the  idols 
in  the  Kaaba,  were  upon  the  natural  equality  and 
brotherhood  of  mankind,  from  this  very  text.  The  sheikh 
el-Islam  at  Constantinople  in  a  letter  to  a  Western 
convert,  a  few  years  since,  in  defining  Moslem  doctrine, 
said,  "  Believers  are  all  brothers." 

It  was,  perhaps,  impossible  to  maintain  over  the 
whole  world  the  original  arrangement  devised  by 
the  Prophet,  by  which  all  men  in  Islam  were  to 
join  in  a  brotherhood  of  the  faith,  which  was  to 
be  closer  even  than  the  ties  of  family;  but  that 
is  still  the  ideal,  and  many  primitive  communities 
go  a  long  way  towards  realising  it.  The  brotherhood 
of  Medina,  when  each  helper  of  the  Prophet  was  allied 
to  one  of  the  exiles,  to  share  each  other's  joys  and 
sorrows,  was  a  fine  conception,  and  is  still  talked  of  by 
pious  Moslems  in  a  way  that  shows  how  the  influence 
of  it  lives  on.  In  this  and  a  thousand  similar  ways  the 
religious  education  of  Islam,  which  dwells  so  largely 
on  the  history  of  the  Prophet,  creates  a  standard  of 
conduct  where  rash  critics  have  said  there  is  none. 

Every  Moslem  knows  of  the  Prophet's  self-reproach, 
that  he  could  once  have  been  so  engrossed  in  talk  with 
a  group  of  leading  citizens  of  Mecca,  as  to  frown  on  a 
poor  blind  man  who  sought  his  advice.  They  know,  too, 
that  all  through  his  life  he  referred  to  the  incident, 
and  proclaimed  God's  disapprobation  of  his  conduct. 
That  ringing  verse  of  self-denunciation  is  in  the  Koran 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM      337 

itself,  and  has  haunted  the  imagination  of  Moslems  for 
all  time  ;  leading  to  a  most  tender  consideration  of  the 
blind  as  their  universal  rule. 

"  The  Prophet  frowned  and  turned  aside, 
Because  the  blind  man  came  to  him. 
And  how  knowest  thou  whether  he  might  not  have  been  cleansed 

from  his  sins, 

Or  whether  he  might  have  been  admonished  and  profited  thereby  ? 
As  for  the  man  that  is  rich, 
Him  thou  receivest  graciously  ; 
And  thou  carest  not  that  he  is  not  cleansed. 

But  as  for  him  that  cometh  unto  thee,  earnestly  seeking  his  salvation, 
And  trembling  anxiously,  him  dost  thou  neglect. 
By  no  means  shouldst  thou  act  thus"  (Sura  Ixxx.  i-io). 

As  an  instance  of  perversity  of  judgment,  coming 
from  want  of  sympathy,  it  may  be  remarked  that  Sir 
Wm.  Muir — who  accounts  for  Mohammed  by  a  theory 
of  demoniacal  possession — can  read  of  this  incident,  and 
so  miss  its  grandeur  as  to  say  that  it  merely  signifies 
the  Prophet's  readiness,  when  the  rich  rejected  him,  to 
turn  to  the  poor.  As  Mr.  Bosworth  Smith  remarked, 
"  Was  ever  moral  sublimity  so  marred,  or  heroism  so 
vulgarised  ?  How  Mohammed  towers  above  his  best 
historians  !  " 

Ever  after  this  the  Prophet  went  out  of  his  way  to 
do  this  blind  man  honour  ;  his  greeting  to  him  was, 
"  The  man  is  thrice  welcome  on  whose  account  my 
Lord  hath  reprimanded  me,"  and  he  made  him  twice 
governor  of  Medina. 

In  the  days  of  Omar,  an  incident  occurred  which 
showed  how  deep-rooted  the  principle  had  become  of 
the  absolute  equality  of  all  men  in  Islam.  Jabala,  King 
of  the  Ghassandies,  having  become  a  Moslem,  went  in 
great  pomp  and  ceremony  to  perform  the  pilgrimage. 
While  circumambulating  the  Kaaba,  the  robe  of  a  poor 
pilgrim  was  accidentally  flicked  across  the  king's  neck, 

22 


338         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

when  the  king  turned,  and,  in  a  fury,  struck  him  violently, 
knocking  out  his  teeth.  This  is  how  Omar,  the  Caliph, 
wrote  of  what  followed.  "  The  poor  man  came  to  me, 
and  prayed  for  redress.  I  sent  for  Jabala,  and  when 
he  came  before  me,  I  asked  him  why  he  had  so  ill- 
treated  a  brother  Moslem.  He  answered  that  the  man 
had  insulted  him,  and  that  were  it  not  for  the  sanctity 
of  the  place  he  would  have  killed  him  on  the  spot.  I 
answered  that  his  words  added  greatly  to  the  gravity 
of  his  offence,  and  that  unless  he  obtained  the  pardon 
of  the  injured  man  he  would  have  to  submit  to  the 
usual  penalty  of  the  law.  Jabala  replied,  c  I  am  a  king, 
and  the  other  is  only  a  common  man.'  '  King  or  no 
king,  both  of  you  are  Moslems,  and  both  of  you  are 
equal  in  the  eye  of  the  law.' '  The  king  escaped  in 
the  night,  and  became  a  Christian,  rather  than  apologise  ! 
The  ancient  history  of  the  East  teems  with  instances 
of  men  of  lowliest  birth — and  of  negro  blood — rising  to 
the  highest  posts.  And  modern  history  tells  much  the 
same  story,  or,  if  it  halts  at  all,  it  is  because  of  the 
prejudices  of  the  West.  Slave  origin  is  no  disgrace  to 
this  day  in  Egypt ;  a  chief  lady  at  the  present  Court 
was  herself  a  slave,  and  the  respect  in  which  she  is  held 
is  in  no  way  diminished  by  the  fact.  The  wife  of  a 
very  high  Egyptian  official,  whom  I  have  met,  was  a 
negress,  and  when  she  died,  no  wife  was  more  sincerely 
mourned  or  her  children  more  tenderly  cared  for. 
Indeed,  it  is  only  to  the  Western  mind  that  these  facts 
would  call  for  the  slightest  comment,  on  one  side  or  the 
other  ;  for  there  is  a  snobbery  of  the  poor,  towards 
"  their  betters  "  too.  It  is  a  touching  picture  of  the 
simple  affection  of  her  little  negro  charge  which  Lady 
Duff  Gordon  gives :  "  He  is  very  ugly,  with  his  black 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    339 

face  wet  and  swollen — with  grief, — but  he  kisses  my 
hand  and  calls  me  his  mother,  quite  '  natural  like  '  : 
you  see,  colour  is  no  barrier  here." 

Our  thousand  class  distinctions,  and  our  savage  snob- 
bery, which  spoil  the  English  character  in  every  part  of 
the  world,  are  utterly  incomprehensible  to  the  Moslem 
people.  They  can,  for  instance,  make  nothing  of  such 
an  incident  as  that  which  took  place  at  the  English 
Sporting  Club  at  Cairo  this  year.  Certain  genial 
officers  took  the  Tommys  who  had  been  called  in  to 
make  up  hockey  or  other  teams  to  give  them  a  cup  of 
tea  in  the  Pavilion  ;  but  they  were  soon  confronted  with 
haughty  civilian  complaints  to  the  committee.  It's — 
get  out,  Tommy  Atkins,  till  the  drums  begin  to  play ! 

Pride  I  have  seen,  of  the  most  haughty  description, 
in  an  occasional  Pasha — I  generally  found  that  he  was 
not  an  Arab  but  a  Turk — who  expected  acknowledgment 
of  his  position,  defying  the  Koranic  instruction  by 
"  seeking  to  exalt  himself  on  the  earth,"  and  thus 
running  the  risk  of  losing  Paradise  (Sura  xxviii.  83). 
But  I  have  sat  with  a  friend  of  mine,  a  rich  Bey, 
with  the  family  grocer  and  his  neighbours,  in  a  shop  in 
the  Mousky,  in  Cairo,  without  a  trace  of  any  conscious- 
ness of  class,  for  all  the  world  like  the  Arabian  Nights. 
And  another  Cairo  friend,  a  Pasha  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished family,  a  man  of  great  possessions,  moves 
with  delightful  grace  amongst  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men.  The  snobbery  that  measures  a  man's  house, 
his  salary,  his  father's  "  position,"  and  cuts  the  pattern 
of  recognition  exactly  to  fit  with  self-advantage,  these 
things  are  absent.  The  great  Mohammed  AH  began 
life  as  an  illiterate  coffee-house  keeper,  to  end  it  as  the 
very  forceful  ruler  of  all  Egypt. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE    POSITION    OF    WOMEN 

"  The  best  men  are  those  who  are  best  to  their  wives  and  daughters. 
The  best  Moslems  are  those  who  best  treat  their  wives.  You  are  all 
shepherds  ;  every  shepherd  is  responsible  for  his  flock.  Man  is  the 
shepherd  of  his  household  ;  he  is  responsible  for  them.  Woman  is  the 
shepherd  of  her  husband's  house  ;  she  is  responsible  for  it." 

A  traditional  saying  of  Mohammed. 

THE  persistence  through  centuries  of  time  of  certain 
fears  and  hatreds  which  have  become  deep  rooted  in 
the  minds  of  a  whole  people,  with  the  fallacies  and 
prejudices  they  engendered,  would  make  a  curious 
study.  I  have  seen  an  Irish  lad — of  that  part  of  Ireland 
where  Cromwell's  suppressions  were  most  severe,  spit 
upon  the  picture  of  the  Protector,  actuated  by  hatred, 
purely  hereditary.  Remnants  of  the  terror  inspired 
by  ancient  religious  persecutions  are  to  be  found  still 
surviving  in  remote  parts  of  England.  There  are 
simple  folk  in  out-of-the-way  places  of  East  Anglia,  to 
this  day,  who  speak  with  an  inherited  fear  of  the  days 
when  "  Bony "  was  expected  to  invade  our  shores, 
quite  ignorant  of  those  later  fashions  in  invasion-bogies 
which  have  supplanted  the  old  terror. 

It  is  somewhat  in  this  way  that  Western  ideas  of  the 
Moslem  people  survive.  An  educated  Egyptian  of  my 
acquaintance,  who,  thirty  years  ago,  was  sent  to  a  small 
town  in  France  to  learn  the  language,  said  he  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  getting  lodgings,  and  when  he  found 


340 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    341 

a  decent  woman  to  take  him,  he  was  treated  with  such 
eccentric  oversight  and  suspicion  as  made  him  wretched  ; 
every  word  said  to  him  showed  that  the  woman  thought 
him  a  barbarian,  who  had  no  idea  of  the  uses  of  civilised 
furniture,  or  even  of  the  elements  of  domestic  decency. 
She  even  explained  how  a  bed  should  be  slept  in, 
and  used  for  no  other  purpose,  and  that  he  must 
remove  his  boots,  especially,  before  getting  into  it. 
However,  by  patience  he  gradually  wore  away  these 
mysterious  prejudices  ;  and  some  time  afterwards  the 
housekeeper  and  her  husband  confessed  that  they 
thought  all  Moslems  to  be  under  the  distinct  curse  of 
God.  So  much  so,  that  they  believed,  and  so  did  all 
their  friends,  that  the  very  water  in  which  a  Moslem 
washed  developed  in  three  days  a  peculiar  microbe  in 
the  form  of  a  tiny  worm.  The  man  had  kept  such  water 
under  close  observation,  until  he  decided  that  the  idea — 
one  of  those  vague  survivals  of  an  embittered  past, 
possibly  as  long  ago  as  the  Crusades — was  erroneous  ; 
the  end  of  the  connection  being  a  long-cherished  friend- 
ship. 

A  curious  instance  of  this  is  found  in  the  travels  of 
Sir  Bertrandon  de  la  Brocquiere,  the  bold  Burgundian 
knight  who  journeyed  in  1432  A.D.  across  Asia  Minor 
and  through  Turkey.  He  asserts  that  the  Moslem 
ruler  of  Iconium  and  his  son  "had  been  baptized  in 
the  Greek  manner  to  take  off  the  bad  smell.  ...  It  is 
thus  that  all  grandees  get  themselves  baptized  that  they 
may  not  stink."  It  is  remarkable  that  this  belief,  which 
dates  back  to  the  twelfth  century,  survives  in  the 
twentieth  century  in  Syria,  where  the  Christians  fully 
believe  that  Moslems  have  a  naturally  evil  odour  which 
can  only  disappear  when  they  are  baptized. 


342         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

There  is  no  gainsaying  these  popular  beliefs,  just  as 
there  was  no  appeal  against  the  passions  which  en- 
gendered them.  Dante,  as  a  man  of  learning,  would  have 
given  Mohammed  a  place  amongst  the  men  of  intel- 
lectual power  in  the  Divine  Comedy,  but  under  the 
pressure  of  the  intense  hatred  of  the  people  of  Italy  to 
the  Prophet,  was  impelled  to  eventually  consign  him 
to  the  lowest  depths  of  Hell. 

It  is  to  the  same  category  that  the  popular  Western 
beliefs  about  the  position  of  women  in  Islam  belong. 
"  The  Moslem  does  not  even  attribute  the  possession 
of  a  soul  to  women,"  is  the  statement  I  have  heard 
made,  within  the  last  year  or  two,  to  a  party  of  well- 
known  writers  in  London,  by  an  authoress  of  some 
repute — and  there  was  not  one  to  contradict  it. 

"  So  little  did  the  Prophet  reckon  of  woman,"  I 
heard  a  learned  Canon  of  the  Church  of  England  say, 
"  that  she  is  never  even  mentioned  in  the  Koran  !  " 

The  sheikh  Mohammed  Abdu  was  once  taking  a 
distinguished  European  through  the  Mosque  of  Al 
Azar,  when  a  girl  passed  them  on  the  way  to  prayer. 
"  But,"  said  the  visitor,  "  I  thought  women  had  no 
part  at  all  in  religion,"  which  gave  the  sheikh  the  chance 
of  enlightening  one  man  at  least.  The  poet  Hood 
wrote  of  Islam,  "  Where  woman  has  never  a  soul  to  save." 

As  I  have  had  the  advantage  of  discussing  this  ques- 
tion of  the  position  of  women  with  all  the  chief  scholars 
and  sheikhs  of  Islam  in  Egypt  (some  of  them  deeply 
versed  in  Arabic  history),  and  of  comparing  their  views 
with  those  of  other  historians,  I  will  summarise  the 
result,  in  an  attempt  to  make  the  matter  clear  as  it  is 
regarded  from  within.  As  recent  writers  have,  as  a 
further  discredit  to  Islam,  begun  to  affirm  that  the 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    343 

position  of  woman  is  worse  for  the  Prophet's  rule,  I 
particularly  sought  out  what  information  is  available 
in  Arabic  history  on  the  subject  of  pre-Islamic  woman. 
I  have  the  authority  of  one  of  the  Grand  Muftis — 
religious  judges — for  saying  that  not  only  in  Arabia, 
but  in  the  neighbouring  countries,  the  position  of 
women  was  in  "  the  days  of  ignorance  "  very  bad.  In 
Persia  she  was  a  prisoner,  and  there  were  no  male  relatives 
to  whom  she  might  not  be  married.  A  certain  number 
of  girls  were  sacrificed  to  the  Goddess  Anakida.  Woman 
was  under  the  absolute  control  of  her  husband  and 
parents,  who  might  kill  her,  or  exchange  her  for 

I  animals. 
In  Arabia  itself  marriage  was  in  no  way  regularised  ; 
not  being  limited  or  bound  by  any  religious  doctrines 
or  traditions,  the  only  restrictions  on  a  man  in  his 
dealings  with  any  woman  he  took  into  his  house  was 
the  fear  of  the  vengeance  of  her  male  relatives  and  her 
tribe  Polygamy  was  general,  a  well-to-do  Arab  having 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  wives ;  a  rich  man  would  have 
as  many  as  a  hundred.  The  woman  had  no  rights  ; 
the  rules  of  inheritance  took  no  count  of  her  at  all.  The 
father  had  the  absolute  right  to  do  whatever  he  pleased 
with  his  daughter.  He  might  kill  her  as  an  infant  by 
burying  her  alive — a  not  uncommon  custom ;  or  he 
might  marry  her  as  a  young  child,  to  any  one  he  pleased, 
and  she  had  no  right  to  object. 

The  glimpses  we  get  of  the  domestic  life  of  those 
days  are,  I  suppose,  what  one  would  naturally  expect ; 
purity  and  gentleness  of  character,  in  either  women  or 
men,  could  scarcely  be  encouraged  by  the  suspicious 
tyrant  and  the  untrusting  slave-owner  at  the  head  of 
the  house. 


344        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

The  poets  of  those  days  ever  hold  the  woman  in 
contempt — she  is  mean  and  faithless,  an  artful  foe  to  man, 
a  hopeless  schemer  against  his  true  interests  when  she 
is  young ;  in  many  cases  a  screaming  termagant  when 
she  is  old.  It  was  such  a  savage  virago  who,  after  the 
victory  of  the  Meccans  over  Mohammed  at  Ohud,  in 
the  person  of  the  wife  of  the  successful  general,  Abu 
Sufyan,  is  said  to  have  torn  out  the  liver  of  her  victim, 
the  valiant  Hamza,  uncle  of  the  Prophet,  and  chewed 
it,  stringing  at  the  same  time  his  nails  and  pieces  of  his 
skin  together  to  bedeck  her  arms  and  legs  ;  an  example 
followed  by  many  a  frenzied  hag  of  Mecca.  "  I  am  not 
displeased  with  the  mutilation  of  the  dead,"  said  the 
leader  of  the  army  (Note  13). 

"  Women  are  the  whips  of  Satan,"  was  a  pre-Islamic 
adage,  and  another  saying  was,  "  When  woman  was 
created  the  Devil  said  to  her — you  are  half  my  army ; 
you  have  my  confidence,  I  need  no  better  weapon  !  " 

The  older  generation  of  the  opponents  of  Islam  used 
to  explain  the  success  of  Mohammed  by  "  the  gross 
ignorance  of  the  people  to  whom  he  came."  But  now 
writers  like  Mr.  Zwemer  are  attempting  to  prove,  as 
one  means  of  discrediting  the  Prophet,  that  there  was 
culture  and  chivalry,  courage  and  freedom,  in  pre- 
Islamic  days. 

The  women  of  Arabia,  it  is  true,  moved  about  with 
some  freedom  ;  and  supported  by  her  men  relatives, 
an  exceptional  woman  would  sometimes  maintain  a 
leading  position.  Occasionally  a  poetess  would  arise, 
having  gifts  which  attracted  attention  to  her  verses 
celebrating  the  honour  of  the  clan,  but  as  Professor 
Palmer  says,  women  "  were  for  the  most  part  looked 
upon  with  contempt.  The  marriage  knot  was  tied  in 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    345 

the  simplest  fashion,  and  untied  as  easily,  divorce  de- 
pending only  on  the  option  and  caprice  of  the  husband." 

This  is  the  state  of  woman  in  Arabia  as  Mohammed 
found  it.  Did  he  acquiesce  in  things  as  he  found  them, 
did  he  further  degrade  womankind,  or  did  he  uplift 
them  ?  If  one  goes  to  the  modern  missionaries'  account 
one  will  find  such  perversion  as  will  declare  that,  although 
Mohammed  abolished  the  slaughter  of  female  infants, 
"  he  discovered  a  way  by  which  all  females  could  be 
buried  alive,  and  yet  live  on — namely  the  veil "  (Our 
Moslem  Sisters,  edited  by  S.  M.  Zwemer). 

In  the  whitewashing  of  the  pre-Islamic  Arabs,  Mr. 
Zwemer  even  goes  so  far  as  to  suggest  excuses  for 
temporary  marriages ;  he  can  imagine  reasons  for 
female  infanticide  ;  with  the  one  object  of  proving  that 
"  while  the  position  of  women  in  '  the  time  of  ignorance  ' 
was  in  some  respects  inferior,  but  in  others  far  superior 
to  that  under  Islam."  He  does  not  hesitate  to  cate- 
gorically affirm  that  the  use  of  the  veil  was  almost 
unknown  in  Arabia  before  Islam,  "nor  did  the  hareem 
system  prevail  in  the  days  of  idolatry  "  (Note  14). 

One  of  the  chief  Moslem  opponents  of  the  veil  in 
Egypt  at  the  present  time  is  Mohammed  Tewfik  Sidky, 
M.D.,  and  he  states  that  the  ulemas  have  acknowledged 
that  the  obligation  to  the  veil  is  not  binding  ;  the  habit 
at  the  time  of  the  Prophet  was  to  show  the  face  and 
hands,  in  proof  of  which  he  mentioned  many  leading 
authorities.  Aysha  heard  the  Prophet  advise  the 
young  daughter  of  Abu  Bakr,  who  was  too  thinly  clad, 
that  "  a  woman  should  not  show  but  her  face  and  hands." 
In  those  days,  and  for  long  after,  women  attended  the 
mosque  prayers  at  the  same  time  with  men,  unveiled, 
as  they  do  in  some  parts  of  the  Sudan  and  in  other 


346        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

places  now.  If  a  woman  to-day  went  veiled  on  the 
pilgrimage,  her  pilgrimage  would  be  invalid. 

Another  learned  Moslem,  the  late  Kasim  Bey  Amin, 
expressed  himself  in  this  way  :  "  Had  the  Shariat  (the 
religious  code)  any  distinct  doctrines  in  favour  of  the 
veil,  I  would  not  say  one  word  contradicting  such 
doctrines,  even  if  I  thought  them  harmful.  God's 
clear  orders  must  be  obeyed  without  discussion  ;  but 
there  is  no  clear  doctrine  in  favour  of  the  veil  as  it  is 
now  used.  Its  use  is  only  traditional  as  copied  from 
other  nations,  and  which  Moslems  gradually  exaggerated, 
giving  to  it  a  religious  significance,  therefore  I  see  no 
objection  to  discussing  it." 

The  Bey  was  an  advocate  of  the  veil ;  he  did  not 
at  all  approve  of  women  mixing  freely  with  men  ;  he 
thought  it  better  for  them  to  pray  at  home  than  in  the 
mosque.  But  he  admitted  that  the  veil  was  a  part  of  the 
national  costume  in  pre-Islamic  times  and  afterwards, and 
that  legally  woman  is  permitted  to  go  to  the  mosques  for 
prayer,  as  she  is  permitted  to  go  on  the  pilgrimage.  She 
also  has  the  right  to  go  out  on  many  occasions  without 
the  veil — to  visit  parents  and  friends.  But  he  thought  it 
better  that  a  certain  use  of  the  veil  should  be  retained. 
One  could  not  help  being  amused  at  the  recalling  by 
the  Bey  of  that  characteristically  feminine  remark  of 
Aysha,  the  Prophet's  wife — with  a  touch  of  malice  in 
it,  I  suspect,  against  her  own  sex — "  If  the  Prophet  had 
known  what  women  have  done  after  him,  he  would 
have  prohibited  their  going  out."  This,  from  Aysha, 
the  ruler  of  men,  and  leader  of  an  army  in  battle,  whose 
liberty  had  scarcely  ever  been  restrained  ! 

Which  reminds  us  that  it  is  the  women  of  Islam 
themselves  who  are  almost  united  against  any  changes 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    347 

in  their  lot.  A  cultured  young  Egyptian  of  my 
acquaintance  is  most  anxious  to  marry,  in  the  Euro- 
pean way,  an  educated  girl  whom  he  has  had  the 
opportunity  of  knowing.  It  is  only  out  of  the  natural 
attraction  possible  in  the  free  intercourse  of  the  sexes 
that  he  thinks  there  is  any  chance  of  avoiding  the  awful 
risks  of  finding  himself  unhappily  mated.  But  it  is 
his  mother  who  stands  in  the  way.  He  will  be  no 
son  of  hers,  she  avers,  if  he  marries  any  girl  but  the  one 
she  and  his  father  have  chosen.  Falling  back  upon 
Eastern  subterfuge,  he  constantly  puts  off  the  desired 
marriage  with  every  sort  of  excuse  ;  but  he  is  sad  with 
the  sense  of  impending  trouble. 

And  this  is  only  one  of  many  such  cases  I  have 
known.  I  can  assure  the  author  of  The  Reproach  of 
Islam  that  the  work  of  such  reformers  as  Kasim  Bey 
Amin  is  not,  as  he  declares,  "  all  against  the  stream," 
that  it  has  not  "  ended  in  failure."  The  leaven  is  at 
work  in  the  whole  lump  of  Eastern  life. 

If  we  do  not  like  the  Moslem  testimony  on  the 
question  of  the  veil  and  the  hareem,  let  us  turn  to  the 
impartial  historian.  Lord  Cromer  quotes  the  following 
words,  as  settling  the  responsibility  of  the  seclusion  of 
women  in  Islam  :  "  The  system  of  the  hareem  is,  in  its 
origin,  not  Moslem,  but  simply  Oriental.  The  only 
reproach  that  can  be  made  against  the  Prophet  is  that, 
by  too  definite  legislation,  he  rendered  subsequent 
development  and  reform  impossible."  Professor  Palmer 
considers  Mohammed's  responsibility  to  end  in  the 
fact  "  that  he  accepted  without  question  the  prevalent 
opinion  of  his  time,  which  was  not  in  favour  of  allowing 
too  great  freedom  to  women."  The  professor  goes  on 
to  say  "  that  Mohammed  had  a  due  respect  for  the 


348         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

female  sex,  as  far  as  was  consistent  with  the  prevailing 
state  of  education  and  opinion,  is  evident." 

As  for  the  veil,  Palgrave  declared  that  "  it  is  a 
matter  of  custom,  and  not  of  creed."  Professor  Mar- 
goliouth,  no  lenient  critic  of  Islam,  says  in  his  latest 
book,  "  the  use  of  the  veil  goes  back  to  early  times  ...  to 
pre-Islamic  antiquity,"  and  "  indeed  the  text  of  the 
Koran  seems  by  the  most  natural  interpretation  to 
assume  that  the  face  will  be  uncovered,  and  certain 
ceremonies  of  the  pilgrimage  require  that  it  should  be 
so."  Is  Bulwer  Lytton  wrong  in  attributing  the  veil 
to  the  women  of  Pompeii  in  the  first  century  A.D.  ? 

Khadijah,  the  Prophet's  first  wife,  wore  a  veil  in 
the  days  before  the  new  religion  was  founded.  One  of 
the  tests  she  proposed  to  prove  the  quality  of  the 
spiritual  visitant  who  troubled  her  husband  was,  that  if 
he  was  reputable,  he  would  leave  the  presence  of  an 
unveiled  woman. 

It  is  clear  that  the  Prophet  never  intended  the  veil 
to  excuse  such  seclusion  as  prevents  engaged  couples 
from  seeing  each  other  till  after  the  marriage,  against 
which  custom  so  many  educated  Egyptian  men  are 
now  rebelling.  When  Al-Moghera  ibn  Sheba  informed 
Mohammed  that  he  was  about  to  marry,  he  asked  him, 
"  Did  you  see  her  ?  "  "  No,"  was  the  reply.  The 
Prophet  then  said,  "  You  must  certainly  see  each  other 
before  you  marry." 

As  soon  as  Mohammed  had  power  he  abolished  in 
unmistakabk  terms  the  murder  of  baby  girls,  and 
proceeded  to  teach  his  followers  that  respect  is  due  to 
women.  The  opening  verse  of  the  fourth  Sura,  called 
"  Woman,"  asserted  a  new  teaching,  against  which  the 
Arabs  of  the  day  were  at  first  inclined  to  revolt — "People 


Photo} 


[Lekegian,  Cairo. 


THE  DOORWAY  OF  AN  ARAB  HOUSE. 
The  inscription  over  the  door  is  the  number  of  the  house  in  Arabic. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    349 

be  humble  before  God,  who  hath  created  man,  and  his 
wife,  of  the  same  soul,"  "  Ye  have  rights  over  your 
wives,  and  your  wives  have  rights  over  you " — an 
astonishing  doctrine  in  that  day.  The  men,  to  their 
surprise,  understood  that  the  Prophet's  teaching  was 
that  man  and  woman  were  in  spiritual  things  equal, 
and  were  equally  responsible  to  God.  He  still,  however, 
firmly  believed  that  men  are  superior  to  women  on 
account  of  qualities  with  which  God  hath  gifted  the 
one  above  the  other,  and  on  account  of  the  maintenance 
supplied  by  the  man  ;  the  wife  may  even  be  scourged 
by  the  husband  for  refractoriness  (Sura  iv.  38).  The 
Prophet,  however,  never  scourged  any  woman,  and  all 
his  teaching  was  on  the  side  of  gentleness,  forbearance, 
and  every  sort  of  considerate  kindness.  "  Associate 
kindly  with  women,"  he  said,  "  for  in  them  God  hath 
placed  abundant  good "  (Sura  iv.  23),  and  "  He  hath 
put  love  and  tenderness  between  you  "  (Sura  xxx.  20). 
In  his  last  solemn  address  to  the  people  of  Mecca  he 
said,  "  Treat  your  women  well." 

The  reverence  Mohammed  always  taught  to  mothers 
is  as  fresh  in  its  application  to-day  as  when  he  was 
alive.  I  have  seen  the  beautiful  devotion  of  mothers 
to  their  sons  in  the  East  again  and  again.  "  If  all  your 
relatives  visited  you  at  once,  your  first  answer  must  be 
to  your  mother,"  he  is  reported  to  have  said.  "  The 
keys  of  Paradise  are  at  your  mother's  feet."  The  death  of 
his  mother  was  a  deep  grief  to  him  as  a  child,  and  he 
never  lost  his  love  and  reverence  for  her.  More  than 
fifty  years  later  he  turned  aside  from  his  pilgrimage  to 
visit  her  grave,  and  he  wept  there. 

As  an  instance  of  certain  methods  of  controversy, 
Mr.  Robert  Speer  said  at  the  Student  Volunteer  Con- 


350        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

vention  at  Nashville,  1906,  "  The  very  chapter  in  the 
Mohammedan  Bible  which  deals  with  the  legal  status 
of  woman  .  .  .  goes  by  the  title  in  the  Koran  itself  of 
'  The  Cow.'  '  Both  the  speaker  at  this  Christian  con- 
ference, and  Mr.  Zwemer,  who  quotes  him,  should 
know  that  the  names  of  the  Suras  were  not  chosen  by 
Mohammed  ;  that  they  are  merely  taken  from  a  pro- 
minent word  at  the  beginning  of  each  Sura  ;  that  "  the 
cow  "  is  the  western  translation  of  the  very  word  which 
is  rendered  "  heifer  "  in  our  own  Bible  (Num.  xix.), 
and  the  Sura  is  even  called  "  the  Heifer  "  in  Palmer's 
translation.  One  can  only  suppose  these  gentlemen 
'  wished  to  convey  to  those  ignorant  of  the  facts,  a  vulgar 
suggestion  which  is  as  unworthy  as  it  is  unfair.  Mr. 
Zwemer  adds,  "  Although,  of  course,  the  title  of  the 
chapter  was  not  given  it  for  that  reason."  Then  why, 
if  may  be  asked,  propagate  such  an  appeal  to  mere 
ignorant  prejudice.  "  The  Cow  "  sura  has  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  any  rude  nickname  the  Turks  may 
use  about  women. 

It  must  be  interesting  to  English  reformers  to  know 
that  the  Egyptian  Arab  Muslim  thinks  all  our  customs 
are  very  hard  upon  women.  Instead  of  turning  an 
erring  woman  out  of  society,  "  the  concealing  of  evil  " 
is  considered  very  meretorious,  and,  where  women  are 
concerned,  positively  a  religious  duty. 

Lady  Duff  Gordon  asked  Omar,  her  servant,  if  he 
would  tell  his  brother  if  he  saw  his  wife  do  anything 
wrong.  (N.B. — He  can't  endure  her.)  "  Certainly 
not.  I  must  cover  her  with  my  cloak."  She  discovered 
that,  founded  on  the  verse  from  the  Koran,  "  The 
woman  is  made  for  the  man,  but  the  man  is  also  made 
for  the  woman,"  there  was  a  distinct  sentiment  in 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    351 

favour  of  the  obligations  of  chastity  being  equal ;  that 
the  allowances  made  for  the  man  should  also  be  made 
for  the  woman.  All  unchastity  is  wrong  ;  "  an  abom- 
ination ;  "  the  thunders  of  the  Koran  on  the  subject 
testifying  to  this,  but  equally  so  in  men  and  women. 
"  Scourge  (each  of  them)  with  an  hundred  stripes  " 
(Sura  xxiv.  2-3). 

It  is  the  Arabs,  it  must  be  remembered,  whose 
traditions  go  back  to  the  earliest  Islamic  times,  who  hold 
these  views.  The  Turks  and  other  nations  who  intro- 
duced and  fostered  the  hareem  system,  of  necessity, 
have  other  sentiments. 

In  a  recent  Arabic  book,  on  the  position  of  women 
in  Islam,  it  is  stated  "  A  man  who  will  patiently  bear 
the  bad  character  of  his  wife  will  be  rewarded  by  God 
like  Ayyoub,  the  Prophet."  Husbands,  says  the  Grand 
Cadi  (judge),  should  be  very  patient  and  tolerant  to 
their  wives,  even  to  those  who  transgress.  A  family 
conference  must  be  quietly  called  to  consider  a  serious 
charge  against  her,  and  the  four  necessary  witnesses 
must  be  disinterested.  Before  the  sentence  of  divorce 
is  pronounced  she  ought  to  be  invited  to  repent. 

Such  a  statement  never  ought  to  have  been  penned 
that  "  The  idea  of  woman  being  created  by  God  to  be 
man's  helpmeet,  the  sharer  of  his  joys,  and  the  partner 
of  his  sorrows,  seems  never  to  have  entered  Mohammed's 
mind"  (Note  15).  Not  only  are  all  the  sayings  of  the 
Prophet  in  accordance  with  such  an  ideal  of  marriage, 
but  the  example  of  his  married  life  with  Khadijah 
fulfilled  it.  A  more  perfect  union  is,  perhaps,  not 
recorded  of  any  man  of  genius. 

"  Of  God's  mercy  He  made  of  yourselves  wives  to 
sympathise  with  you,  and  He  put  kindness  and  mercy 


352         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

between  the  two,"  is  a  traditional  saying — one  of  many. 
Khadijah  must  ever  rank  as  one  of  those  good  angels 
who,  by  their  ministry  of  faith  and  encouragement, 
have  preserved  certain  men  of  genius,  in  the  early  days 
of  their  work,  from  despair.  A  tradition  says  of  her  that 
"  She  believed  in  Mohammed,  and  believed  in  the  truth 
of  the  revelation,  and  fortified  him  in  his  aims.  She 
was  the  first  who  believed  in  God,  in  His  messenger, 
and  in  the  Revelation.  Thereby  God  had  sent  Moham- 
med comfort,  for  as  often  as  he  heard  aught  disagreeable, 
contradictory,  or  how  he  was  shown  to  be  a  liar,  she 
was  sad  about  it.  God  comforted  him  through  her 
when  he  returned  to  her,  in  rousing  him  up  again  and 
making  his  burden  more  light  to  him,  assuring  him  of 
her  own  faith  in  him,  and  representing  to  him  the 
futility  of  men's  babble." 

Many  traditions  testify  to  this,  as  to  the  suicidal 
depressions  of  Mohammed,  in  the  first  years  when  he 
felt  himself  called  to  a  special  work,  the  import  of  which 
was  not  yet  clear  to  him.  T.  W.  Arnold  declares  this 
union  to  be  "  truly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  pictures 
of  a  perfect  wedded  life  that  history  gives  us  "  (Preach- 
ing of  Islam,  p.  9).  The  missionary  "corrective"  is, 
however,  provided  by  the  Rev.  W.  St.  Clair-Tisdall, 
in  the  words  previously  quoted. 

To  show  that  an  appreciation  of  this  sentiment 
survives,  I  may  quote  from  the  dedication  of  the  recent 
Arabic  work  on  women,  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Court 
of  Assize  in  Egypt — Kasim  Bey  Amin  ;  of  the  work 
itself  I  have  already  spoken.  "  To  my  friend,  Saad 
Zagloul — In  you  I  have  found  a  heart  that  thinks,  and 
a  will  that  acts.  To  me  you  have  been  the  image  of 
friendship  and  cordiality,  and  thus  it  is  that  I  have  been 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    353 

able  to  perceive  that  life  is  not  mere  misery,  but  that 
it  has  sweet  hours  to  those  who  can  appreciate  them. 
It  is  from  the  intercourse  of  our  friendship  that  I  am 
able  to  judge  that  such  cordiality  would  give  hours 
of  deeper  happiness  if  exchanged  between  a  husband 
and  wife.  Here  is  the  secret  of  happiness  for  which 
I  work — to  put  woman  in  her  right  position,  and  so 
benefit  both  men  and  women." 

The  ideal  state  of  marriage  has  never  been  entirely 
lost  in  Islam,  I  think.  It  was  an  Egyptian  Moslem  who 
wrote  in  this  way  in  the  sixteenth  century  :  "  We 
Sufis  have  entered  into  an  engagement  to  espouse  only 
one  wife,  and  not  to  associate  others  with  her.  The 
man  who  has  only  one  wife  is  happy.  ...  A  pure- 
hearted  wife  is  a  great  happiness  in  the  house.  Oh  ! 
how  often  while  I  was  weaving  have  I  stolen  a  glance 
at  my  wife,  the  mother  of  my  son,  sewing  garments  for 
the  poor.  I  understood  then  that  I  had  happiness  in 
my  house.  Often  she  opened  her  larder  and  distributed 
the  contents  to  the  poor.  May  God  be  merciful  to 
her."  The  writer,  Sharani,  died  in  Cairo,  in  1565  A.D. 
It  was  a  Moslem  saint  who  sang — 

"  Love  and  tenderness  are  qualities  of  humanity, 
Passion  and  lust  are  qualities  of  animality. 
Woman  is  a  ray  of  God,  not  a  mere  mistress, 
The  Creator's  self,  as  it  were,  not  a  mere  creature." 

(Rumi,  1207  A.D.) 

Amongst  the  educated  men  this  as  an  ideal  of  com- 
panionship and  friendship  has  become  almost  general. 
There  is  nothing  they  so  much  envy  in  the  Western 
nations  as  the  capacity  for  practical  comradeship  in 
our  women-folk.  I  never  found  an  educated  youth 
who  did  not  favour  the  education  of  women  in  the  hope 


354        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

that  the  women  of  Egypt  would  advance  in  liberty 
and  capacity,  so  that  the  marriage  bond  might  become 
more  like  that  of  the  West. 

My  most  intimate  Egyptian  friend  has  a  home-life 
which  in  spite  of  the  hareem  is  most  perfectly  happy. 
His  mother  rules  her  family  with  wisdom  and  deep 
affection,  having  been  in  every  sense  a  companion  and 
a  helpmeet  to  her  husband  for  close  on  forty  years. 
This  young  man  has  been  in  England,  and  admires 
the  position  of  our  women,  and  especially  the  freedom 
of  the  wife  to  go  anywhere  with  her  husband.  He  is 
too  loyal  and  obedient  to  the  wishes  of  his  parents  to 
desire  to  oppose  their  ideas  as  to  his  own  betrothal 
(which  are  those  customary  in  Egyptian  upper-class 
families),  but  he  is  all  for  the  education  of  girls,  and 
their  eventual  freedom.  This  he  believes  can  be 
accomplished  in  accordance  with  his  religion,  to  which 
he  is  deeply  attached. 

Without  the  least  desire  to  minimise  the  great  evils 
of  woman's  lot,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  one  of 
the  chief  errors  of  the  West  to  imagine  that  the  Eastern 
woman's  life  is  generally  one  of  utter  wretchedness, 
with  a  constant  pining  on  the  part  of  every  one  of  them 
after  such  emancipation  as  presents  itself  to  the  European 
mind.  My  wife  has  talked  with  women  of  all  grades 
of  society,  from  the  old-fashioned  mother  of  a  large 
family  to  the  young  daughters  of  the  rich  Pasha  who 
have  had  every  advantage  of  education  and  accomplish- 
ment known  to  the  English  or  French  girl  of  the  upper 
classes  ;  to  the  wife  of  the  Government  clerk,  and  to 
the  poorest  fellaha.  Of  the  purely  Turkish  hareem  I 
know  very  little,  from  first  hand.  On  the  whole,  the 
restraints  of  the  life,  as  we  have  seen  it,  do  not  cause 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    355 

the  woman  active  unhappiness,  and  they  think  their 
customs  good  ;  the  rich  ladies  of  Cairo  frankly  admit 
that  they  do  not  see  much  to  envy  in  their  European 
sisters  who  come  under  their  observation  there. 

"  We  are  quite  happy  in  the  society  of  our  father 
and  brothers ;  we  have  many  interests  and  ambitions, 
in  study  and  accomplishments.  We  think  we  should  not 
like  to  meet  men  promiscuously,  as  English  ladies  do," 
said  the  wife  and  daughters  of  one  of  the  chief  families. 
But  this  was,  of  course,  a  case  in  which  there  was  wealth 
and  very  enlightened  parents,  and  a  happy  home-life,  to 
which  the  hareem  was  in  no  way  a  hindrance.  It  was 
quite  a  joke  with  the  household  that  whenever  I  called 
on  the  Pasha  he  was  always  in  the  hareem  part  of  the 
house,  and  I  knew  by  many  signs  that  his  family  life  was 
most  cherished  by  him. 

Where  there  is  a  want  of  culture,  the  evils  of  seclusion 
make  themselves  manifest  in  the  jealousy  and  tyranny 
of  the  women  towards  each  other — for  it  is  customary 
for  families  to  combine,  the  sons  often  taking  home  their 
wives  to  join  their  mother's  hareem  ;  with  a  result 
easily  to  be  imagined  in  England,  where  one  of  our 
three  national  jokes  (or  is  it  four  ?)  is  that  of  the  incom- 
patibility of  the  mother-in-law  to  the  family  life.  The 
whole  system  under  which  such  ignorant  women  live 
gives  a  low  and  mean  tone  to  almost  every  act  and  word. 

The  woman  of  the  lower  middle  class  lives  her  quiet 
life  in  the  belief  that  if  her  husband  relaxed  the  rules 
of  seclusion  it  would  be  a  sign  that  he  did  not  care  for 
her.  The  poor  woman  of  the  village  is  not  more  un- 
happy than  is  the  woman  whose  life  is  one  of  constant 
labour  in  other  countries.  Often  the  husband  is  kind 
and  considerate,  in  all  classes ;  and  always  the  woman's 


356        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

greatest  joy  is  in  her  children  ;    and  the  attachment  of 
sons  is  the  comfort  of  old  age. 

Divorce,  and  the  fear  of  it — this  is  the  black  cloud 
over  woman's  existence  in  Egypt,  of  which  she  is  most 
conscious.  In  many  of  the  humble  village  homes  there 
is  a  constant  dread  of  a  second  wife  appearing  ;  with 
the  chief  object  that  the  family  may  be  increased,  for 
the  only  chance  of  a  livelihood  for  the  fellaheen  family 
is  "  a  quiverfull  "  to  join  in  the  labour  of  the  field,  which 
will  scarcely  then  yield  bread  sufficient.  The  number 
of  the  prayers,  and  charms,  and  special  praying-places, 
and  sheikhs'  tombs,  to  avert  childlessness,  is  incredible ; 
not  only  for  the  love  of  children,  but  again  in  view  of 
the  horror  of  divorce,  for  which  childlessness  is  sufficient 
reason. 

To  the  middle-class  women,  as  to  those  of  the  aris- 
tocracy, seclusion  has  many  alleviations.  The  constant 
exchange  of  visits  to  friends,  and  the  many  demands 
of  friendship  in  the  matter  of  long  visits  of  congratula- 
tion, as  of  condolence,  bring  a  great  deal  of  change  and 
variety.  There  is  much  fancy  needlework,  and  I  have 
frequently  heard  the  sound  of  the  piano  in  the  distant 
hareem.  There  are  many  jewels  to  display  to  friends, 
and  the  art  of  dress  is  not  neglected,  as  a  married  man's 
accounts  (shown  to  me,  but  not  to  be  discussed  in  any 
way — for  this  would  be  improper)  prove. 

The  position  of  the  elder  married  woman  of  this 
class  gains  in  freedom  with  the  years.  The  widow  is 
almost  as  free  in  all  her  movements  as  the  man,  with 
control  sometimes  of  large  affairs.  I  know  of  more 
than  one  widow  lady  who  manages  considerable  estates 
with  vigour  ;  and  of  married  ladies  who  travel  with 
their  husbands  in  all  countries ;  and  these  not  of 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    357 

the  rank  of  those  rich  Turkish  wives  who  visit  Europe 
as  a  matter  of  course  each  summer,  and  discard  their 
pretence  of  a  veil  before  the  harbour  bar  at  Alexandria 
is  crossed. 

The  tragedy  of  seclusion  and  the  veil,  and  all  that 
they  mean,  are  with  those  girls,  daughters  of  middle-class 
but  unenlightened  mothers,  who  have  not  the  happy 
home-life  I  have  mentioned.  It  is  the  inevitable  tragedy 
of  all  transition  stages  in  human  affairs.  A  girl  is  well 
educated,  even  sent  to  France  or  Switzerland,  living  a 
free  life  with  other  girls,  making  European  friends,  and 
for  a  short  time  after  her  return  home  has  respite  from 
the  veil  and  seclusion,  and  visits  European  homes  in 
Egypt  where  there  are  daughters,  as  well  as  her  Egyptian 
acquaintances.  But  the  old-fashioned  mother  in  the 
background  has  issued  her  fiat :  at  a  certain  given  time 
the  sentence  of  restraint  must  fall.  There  is  rebellion, 
and  in  some  cases  disaster. 

In  a  case  well  known  to  me  in  Lower  Egypt,  a 
beautiful  girl  had  been  highly  educated  at  home,  and 
had  read  many  books  of  romance  in  English  and  French, 
from  which  she  had  gathered  a  great  deal  of  knowledge 
of  women's  life  in  Europe,  and  especially  of  the  poetry 
of  chivalry  and  of  love.  She  was  sought  in  marriage — 
through  her  widowed  mother — by  a  relative  whom 
as  a  child  she  had  seen,  and  remembered  sufficiently 
well  to  know  that  she  detested  him.  There  was  just 
enough  of  the  modern  element  about  the  home  to  admit 
of  a  small  episode  out  of  which  a  romantically  inclined 
girl  created  an  idyll.  A  letter,  a  message  by  telephone  ; 
the  conservative  side  of  the  household  suspicious.  And 
then  the  alarm  of  the  mother,  who  knew  that  if  a  shade 
of  a  breath  of  such  a  suspicion  got  abroad,  it  would 


35 8         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

mean  for  her  daughter  a  discredited  life.  The  distasteful 
marriage  must  be  pressed  forward.  The  girl  had,  of 
course,  the  right  to  decline  the  marriage,  but  the  grip 
that  circumstance  laid  upon  her  seemed  too  strong. 
The  idyll  could  not  be  realised  ;  and  the  heart  quietly 
broke.  The  marriage  day  was  a  day  of  mourning,  and 
the  poor  women  who  had  assembled  to  condole,  wailed 
as  the  white  burden  left  the  house,  "  There  goes  the 
bride ! » 

This  girl  was  deeply  religious,  as  many  of  the  women 
are.  I  know  this  is  contrary  to  the  opinion  expressed 
by  Lane, — "  in  Egypt  the  women  seldom  pray,  even  at 
home," — but  my  wife  and  I  constantly  heard  of  women 
who  were  very  regular  in  their  prayers,  and  devout  in 
their  conduct.  There  is  usually  a  praying-place  for  the 
women  in  the  home,  as  there  is  for  the  men,  and  the 
chief  women  lead  the  stated  prayers  for  the  family  and 
servants.  Special  sheikhs,  the  very  old  men,  go  to  the 
hareems  to  teach  the  women  in  religious  matters  and 
to  read  the  Koran  ;  and  as  the  pious  men  seclude  them- 
selves in  the  mosques  during  the  fast  of  Rhamadan,  the 
women  make  religious  "  retreats  "  for  themselves  at 
home,  to  read  the  Koran  and  to  pray.  On  Fridays  they 
pray  the  stated  noonday  prayer,  and  all  household  duties 
and  work  are  suspended  till  it  is  over  (Note  16).  There 
are,  indeed,  special  rules  which  adapt  the  ablutions  to 
the  woman's  needs,  as  well  as  in  the  postures.  She 
need  not  undo  her  hair  in  the  one  case,  or  raise  her 
hands  as  high  as  the  men  in  the  other  ;  an  obvious 
consideration. 

In  the  Sudan  the  women  still  pray  in  the  mosques 
at  the  same  time  as  the  men,  but  in  the  back  rows,  so 
that  the  men  may  not  see  them.  I  have  seen  rows  of 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    359 

women  behind  the  men  making  the  Bairam  special 
prayer  in  the  desert.  At  Mecca,  I  was  assured  by  more 
than  one  pilgrim,  it  is  quite  usual  for  the  ladies  of  dis- 
tinguished classes  to  appear  at  public  worship  with  the 
men,  not  even  being  confined  to  the  use  of  any  special 
part  of  the  sacred  court  of  the  mosque.  In  Algiers 
there  is  a  special  woman's  mosque,  and  I  have  many 
times  entered  its  precincts  and  seen  numbers  of  women 
at  prayer  there,  a  fact  I  mention  to  show  how  little 
justification  there  is  for  the  statement  that  women 
have  little  or  no  part  in  religion,  so  constantly  re- 
iterated. 

As  for  the  equality  of  soul,  if  there  is  one  thing  in 
the  Koran  stated  and  re-stated  with  legal  precision,  it 
is  this.  "  Truly  the  men  who  resign  themselves  to  God, 
and  the  women  who  resign  themselves,  and  the  devout 
men  and  the  devout  women,  and  the  men  of  truth,  and 
the  women  of  truth,  and  the  patient  and  humble,  and 
who  give  alms  and  who  fast,  and  are  chaste,  men  and 
women  ;  and  the  men  and  women  who  oft  remember 
God  ;  for  them  hath  God  prepared  forgiveness  and  a 
rich  recompense  "  (Sura  xxxiii.  36). 

Though  Mohammed  legalised  divorce,  he  never 
once  divorced  a  wife,  and  he  left  his  followers  in  no 
doubt  of  his  detestation  of  it  :  "  divorce  is  of  all  legal 
proceedings  the  most  hated  by  God,"  he  declared. 

Added  to  the  respect  for  woman  which  Mohammed 
taught,  there  is  that  remarkable  set  of  laws,  instituted 
in  the  Koran,  which  still  in  their  application  (in  spite 
of  the  decadence  of  Islam  which  has  borne  with  such 
terrible  hardship  on  women)  place  the  Moslem  woman's 
rights  higher  than  those  of  some  of  the  European 
nations.  "  The  laws  affecting  women,"  as  Mr.  Stanley 


I 

360        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

Lane-Poole  says,  "  are  indeed  the  most  minute  and  the 
most  considerate  in  the  Koran." 

This  is  how  a  Moslem  lady — a  Turkish  princess — of 
the  present  day  states  the  matter  (quoted  in  a  recent 
number  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  and  After,  by  Lady 
Massie  Blomfield)  :  The  Prophet  granted  woman  the 
privilege  of  perfect  equality  with  men,  with  the  exercise 
of  legal  functions.  The  laws  of  divorce  were  remodelled 
by  him  :  the  husband's  power  to  divorce  was  restricted  ; 
women  could  obtain  a  separation ;  irrevocable  divorce 
was  rendered  rarer  by  the  enactment  that  a  woman 
thus  rejected  could  not  return  to  her  husband  unless 
she  were  first  married  and  divorced  by  another ;  and 
four  eye-witnesses  were  required  before  a  wife  could 
be  convicted  of  unfaithfulness.  A  woman  had  a  legal 
right  over  her  own  fortune,  and  could  dispose  of  it  as 
she  pleased. 

She  could  introduce  into  the  marriage  contract  cer- 
tain conditions  to  protect  her  interests  in  case  of< 
divorce  ;  she  had  the  right  to  vote,  and  take  part  in 
theological  and  legal  debates.  What  is  even  more 
important  is  that  these  privileges  were  not  merely 
nominal.  They  were  freely  used  by  Moslem  women 
centuries  ago. 

At  the  present  day,  under  Mohammedan  law,  the 
women  possess  privileges  which  compare  very  favourably 
with  those  enjoyed  by  their  sex  in  other  countries.  An 
unmarried  woman,  until  she  is  of  age,  is  under  parental 
control.  After  that  she  is  entitled  to  similar  property 
rights  with  men.  She  shares  with  her  brothers  in  the 
inheritance  of  her  parents'  property,  in  different  but 
relative  proportions ;  having  in  this  way  an  immense 
advantage  over  the  English  custom  by  which  sons,  and 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    361 

especially  the  first-born,  gain  so  enormously  by  inherit- 
ance over  daughters.  She  cannot  be  married  without 
her  consent ;  a  marriage  settlement  by  the  husband  upon 
the  wife  is  demanded  and  enforced  by  law  ;  the  husband 
is  compelled  to  support  his  wife  ;  he  has  no  right  to  her 
goods  and  property,  nor  may  he  appropriate  her  earnings 
or  ill-treat  her.  A  father  has  not  full  control  over  a 
daughter  after  she  is  of  age  ;  she  then  may  manage  her 
own  property,  and  even  choose  a  husband  without 
necessarily  taking  the  advice  of  her  parents. 

If  the  legal  condition  of  women  be  considered  in 
conjunction  with  that  of  their  sex  in  several  European 
lands,  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  technically  it  need  not 
fear  scrutiny.  How  recent  is  the  passing  of  the  "  Married 
Women's  Property  Act "  in  England,  by  which  a 
woman  has  control  over  her  own  fortune.  In  France, 
a  woman  is  a  minor  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  A  married 
woman  there  cannot  undertake  any  employment,  or 
appear  before  a  court  of  justice,  unless  her  husband  has 
first  granted  his  consent ;  it  is  only  since  1907  that  she 
has  been  legally  entitled  to  dispose  of  her  own  earnings. 
In  Germany  a  husband  can,  if  he  wish,  forbid  his  wife 
to  engage  in  any  business.  In  Italy  a  married  woman 
cannot  sign  or  draw  a  cheque  on  her  own  account  for 
her  own  money ;  her  testimony  alone  is  not  accepted 
in  a  court  of  law  ;  she  cannot  engage  in  trade  or  dispose 
of  her  own  property  without  her  husband's  consent ; 
he  has  full  power  over  her  earnings,  and  she  cannot 
plead  in  a  court  of  law  without  his  permission. 

Islam,  I  maintain,  clearly  uplifted  woman  from  a 
very  degraded  position,  granting  her  rights  never  known 
to  her  before.  It  is  an  entirely  erroneous  notion 
which  prevails  in  the  West  that  the  seclusion  of  the 


362        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

hareem  was  part  of  Mohammed's  rule  of  life  for  women. 
Neither  in  practice  nor  in  theory  was  strict  seclusion 
ordered  by  the  Prophet,  as  the  history  of  his  own  women- 
folk, whom  he  certainly  regarded  as  worthy  of  special 
guardianship,  shows.  The  hareem  of  those  early  days 
was  merely  the  necessary  precaution  of  a  lawless  period, 
and  not  in  any  way  a  rule  or  an  excuse  for  the  voluptuous 
developments  which  were  afterwards  instituted.  Sale 
declares  that  Mohammed's  law  of  divorce  has  operated 
as  a  practical  prohibition, divorce  being  of  rare  occurrence 
among  Moslems,  and  considered  shameful.  Unfortun- 
ately the  law  is  so  interpreted  in  modern  times,  in  Egypt 
especially,  that  divorce  is  made  easy,  and  is  very  common  ; 
but  what  Sale  states  is  still  true  of  the  Moslems  living 
in  primitive  ways.  It  was  a  learned  clergyman,  of  the 
Church  of  England,  who  stated  that,  "  in  point  of  fact, 
the  doctrine  of  divorce  inculcated  by  Mohammed  is 
plainly  a  studied  copy  after  that  laid  down  by  Moses." 
Of  polygamy,  too,  the  same  writer  says  :  "  The  restraints 
imposed  by  Mohammed  on  polygamy  were  borrowed, 
precept  by  precept,  and  word  for  word,  from  the 
practice  of  the  Jewish  law,  as  interpreted  by  Rabbinical 
tradition.  The  law  of  Moses  yielded  a  reluctant 
sufferance  to  prevailing  custom,  in  its  silent  toleration  of 
a  plurality  of  wives." 

The  freedom  and  dignity  woman  attained  in  those 
early  days  leads  the  modern  reformers  of  Islam  to  turn, 
in  this  matter,  as  in  so  many  others,  to  the  first  days 
of  their  faith. 

Sheikh  Shawish  read  a  learned  paper  at  the  recent 
Egyptian  Congress  protesting  against  the  present-day 
facilities  for  the  Moslem  to  divorce  his  wife,  which  is 
such  a  terrible  blot,  especially  in  Egypt ;  declaring  that 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    363 

the  Koranic  laws  would  make  it  impossible.  It  is  to 
the  Koran  that  many  modern  Moslems  turn  for  the 
settlement  of  the  question  of  polygamy  in  a  way  satis- 
factory to  women,  while  not  utterly  ignoring  the  differ- 
ence between  climate,  and  physical  constitution,  in 
the  East,  as  compared  with  the  North  and  West.  In 
Egypt  polygamy  is  rarely  or  never  practised  amongst 
the  higher  classes ;  an  unanswerable  reply  to  such 
sweeping  statements  as  those  made  in  the  Bishop  of 
London's  famous  speech,  so  far  as  it  concerns  Egypt,being 
that  the  census  shows  the  number  of  males  and  females 
to  be  almost  equal.  The  Bishop  said  :  "  I  hardly  realised 
that  while  the  law  of  Islam  restricts  the  number  of  wives 
to  four  at  a  time,  it  allows  an  unlimited  divorce,  and 
an  unlimited  number  beside  the  wives  who  can  be 
taken  into  the  hareem."  Strictly  speaking,  the  number, 
whether  wives  or  slaves,  must  not  be  more  than  four. 

This  is  what  the  Mufti  says  about  polygamy  :  When 
the  Prophet  appeared  among  the  Arabs,  polygamy  was 
much  practised,  and  it  was  impossible  to  abolish  it, 
and  in  the  early  days  of  Islam  the  loss  of  men  in  battle 
and  on  foreign  service  made  it  necessary.  I  am  even 
disposed  to  say — he  continued — that  under  certain 
circumstances  it  is  a  necessary  evil  with  Orientals,  and 
that  in  all  Western  judgments  in  the  matter,  climate 
should  be  considered.  Mohammed  first  limited  the 
legal  number  of  wives  to  four,  but  he  instituted  such 
restrictions  as  made  it  almost  impossible  of  fulfilment. 
The  first  condition  is  that  the  husband  must  do  them 
all  equal  rights  and  justice,  which  the  great  Imams, 
especially  Fakhr-al-Razy  and  Fat'halla,  have  inter- 
preted to  apply  to  every  relationship  of  life.  To  the 
vast  majority  of  Moslems  this  Koranic  law  must  be 


364        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

binding.  "  If  you  are  afraid  you  may  not  do  them 
justice,  marry  only  one  .  .  .  this  will  make  justice  on 
your  part  easier  "  (Sura  iv.  3). 

Of  the  freedom  of  women  in  early  Islam  there  is 
abundant  proof,  beginning  with  the  Prophet's  widows 
and  children,  who  not  only  took  a  part  in  the  intellectual 
life,  but  also  in  the  practical  affairs  of  the  country. 

To  Hafsa,  one  of  Mohammed's  wives,  had  been 
entrusted  the  chest  in  which  were  kept  the  precious 
documents  and  records  from  which  the  Koran  was 
afterwards  compiled.  Aysha  exercised  the  influence 
of  a  Prince  of  the  Church,  and,  in  addition,  led  an  army 
in  battle.  Fatma,  Mohammed's  daughter,  was  very 
influential  amongst  the  people  of  Medina,  where  all 
the  foremost  women  were  accustomed  to  attend  the 
lectures  and  speeches  of  the  caliphs  and  others. 

The  inspiring  story  of  a  girl-hero  of  that  time, 
Khawala  el-Kandia,  throws  a  light  on  the  early  position 
of  women.  Her  brother  was  a  famous  knight  in  the 
time  of  Omar,  the  second  Caliph  ;  he  was  taken  prisoner 
in  the  battle  of  Agnadin,  when  an  expedition  was 
organised  by  Khalid  ibn  Ul-Walid,  a  famous  general, 
for  his  rescue.  On  the  way  the  general  observed  an 
agile  horseman,  who  was  veiled  save  for  the  eyes,  pur- 
suing the  Roman  soldiers,  with  remarkable  courage, 
killing  some,  and  putting  others  to  flight,  by  taking 
extraordinary  risks.  Following  this  warrior  with  his 
troops,  he  demanded  who  he  was.  Dropping  the  veil, 
she  said,  "  I  am  a  girl — Khawala,  daughter  of  Azur, 
sister  of  Darar,  who  has  been  taken  prisoner.  I  was 
playing  with  Arab  girl-friends  when  a  messenger  came 
and  told  me  my  brother  had  been  taken.  I  determined 
at  once  to  go  to  his  rescue."  She  joined  the  expedition 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    365 

which  rescued  her  brother  ;  and,  with  the  experience 
gained,  she  afterwards  played  a  prominent  part  as  a 
soldier  in  the  conquest  of  Egypt  and  Syria.  She  was 
also  a  great  poetess,  her  theme  being  the  praise  of  virtue 
and  courage,  and  she  was  esteemed  not  only  for  her 
rare  beauty,  but  for  her  purity. 

She  does  not  stand  alone.  The  enthusiasm  and 
courage  of  Moslem  women  in  time  of  war  is  shown  again 
and  again.  In  the  great  battle  between  Omar  and  the 
Emperor  Heraclius  (641  A.D.),  the  women,  besides 
helping  in  the  fight,  ministered  to  the  troops  as  nurses, 
water-carriers,  and  so  on,  while  all  the  time  urging  the 
Moslem  troops  to  renewed  effort.  It  was  the  encourage- 
ment given  by  their  intrepid  women-folk  that  made  it 
impossible  for  the  men  to  turn  their  backs  on  the  enemy. 

In  the  time  of  Omieh,  women  had  attained  to  a 
dignified  position  in  every  walk  of  life.  There  has 
perhaps  been  no  time  in  history  when  she  so  nearly 
rivalled  man.  She  was  thoroughly  educated  and 
trained,  in  not  only  writing,  poetry,  and  literature,  but 
in  the  deepest  religious  matters,  so  that  some  of  them 
became  professors  of  traditional  lore,  even  in  the 
mosque  universities.  The  famous  history  of  Ibn 
Khalkan  records  the  names  of«  very  many  women, 
some  from  the  lowest  classes,  who  became  excellent 
poetesses.  Sakina,  daughter  of  Hosein,  was  amongst 
the  most  cultivated  women  of  her  time,  her  salon  attract- 
ing all  the  men  and  women  of  genius  of  the  day. 

At  the  time  of  the  Abbasides,  women  played  a 
prominent  part  in  society,  and  many  became  famous 
as  teachers  and  lecturers.  The  Imam  Shaffey,  one  of 
the  four  great  pillars  of  Islam,  was  taught  by  a  woman. 
Another  famous  woman  of  that  period  was  Khazaran, 


366        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  wife  of  Al  Mokdy,  who  was  very  influential  in  State 
affairs,  all  historians  agreeing  that  she  was  consulted  in 
all  important  matters,  and  that  she  was  distinguished 
in  charitable  service.  She,  too,  had  a  great  salon,  and 
received  all  the  functionaries  and  governors,  ulemas 
and  poets,  at  the  house  of  the  Caliphate.  During  the 
Caliphate  of  her  son,  she  was  joint-administrator  of 
the  Empire. 

Another  wonderful  woman  was  the  wife  of  the 
Caliph  al-Mahtaded.  At  the  death  of  her  husband, 
during  the  minority  of  her  son,  she  was  the  real  ruler 
of  the  Empire,  and  received  the  ambassadors  of  foreign 
countries  in  the  presence  of  the  ministers.  She  glorified 
those  early  days  by  erecting  a  hospital  at  a  cost  of  .£7000. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  mention  the  names  and 
attainments  of  the  women  famous  as  teachers,  as  rulers, 
as  social  leaders,  even  as  scientists.  It  may  be  said  that 
up  to  the  time  of  the  Abbasides,  the  opportunities  for 
distinction,  and  place,  and  honour,  were  almost  equal 
between  men  and  women.  The  change  has  been  all  for 
the  worse.  As  in  the  past  it  was  the  ordinances  of  her 
religion  which  gave  her  respect  and  upheld  her  rights,  so 
it  is  maintained  it  may  be  by  way  of  religion  that  woman's 
emancipation  from  the  present  bondage  may  come. 

The  decadence  of  the  lot  of  women  can  be  traced, 
it  is  maintained,  from  the  time  when  the  Islamic  world 
itself  fell  into  degenerate  habits,  and  began  to  imitate 
the  indulgent  and  luxurious  ways  of  other  nations, 
whilst  it  tried  to  stifle  its  conscience  by  giving  false 
interpretations  to  the  Koran.  It  was  when  luxurious 
living  increased,  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  that 
palaces  were  built,  and  houses  began  to  be  divided  into 
two  parts,  one  of  them  entirely  reserved  for  the  women 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    367 

— a  new  form  of  hareem  with  a  new  significance — a 
custom  which  Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  so  mistakenly 
attributes  to  "  the  laws  of  their  *  Prophet  V 

When  the  Persians  became  powerful  in  Islam,  the 
position  of  woman  began  to  be  seriously  degraded,  and 
eunuchs  were  adopted,  the  sign  of  a  vicious  sentiment, 
says  the  Turkish  Princess  already  quoted.  "  Towards 
the  end  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Abbasid  Caliphs,  the 
Moslem  woman  first  found  herself  sinking  from  her 
high  place  of  honour.  Luxury  and  debauchery  took 
possession  of  the  Court ;  woman  became  a  mere  chattel, 
the  instrument  of  her  lord  and  master's  vicious  pleasure. 
The  conquest  of  Constantinople  gave  the  finishing  stroke 
to  the  liberties  of  the  Moslem  women,  and  from  that 
day  the  sensuous  indulgent  life  of  the  hareem,  with  its 
soft  divans  and  silken  cushions,  its  jewels  and  voluptuous 
pleasures,  has  gradually  sapped  the  intellectual  and  moral 
strength  of  its  denizens. 

With  regard  to  the  future,  it  is  encouraging  to  find 
the  growing  sentiment  in  favour  of  change,  founded  on 
religion  and  past  history. 

The  experience  in  the  modern  education  of  men 
has  been  to  show  that,  to  abruptly  introduce  European 
training  is  to  run  the  risk  of  destroying  his  religion  and 
leaving  him  an  Agnostic,  as  Lord  Cromer  has  rather 
sweepingly  asserted.  "  Is  there  any  reason,"  he  goes 
on  to  ask,  "  why  European  education  should  not  produce 
the  same  effect  on  the  Europeanised  Egyptian  woman  ? 
I  know  of  none."  But  he  urges  the  importance  of 
reform,  despairing  entirely  of  a  civilisation,  equal  to 
the  European  standard,  making  any  progress  in 
Mohammedan  countries  unless  the  condition  of  their 
women  is  improved. 


368         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

But  the  gathering  opinion  of  the  men  of  Islam 
is  that  emancipation  can  be  found  from  within.  In 
Egypt  the  sentiment  in  favour  of  education  seems 
secure  enough  to  make  advance  certain.  "  The  study 
of  the  Moslem  religious  code  will  give  us  most  solid 
support,"  says  the  Princess,  "  will  arm  us  with  the 
most  cogent  reasons  in  our  favour,  and  will  also  guide 
our  first  steps  in  the  struggle  to  retain  our  legal  rights 
and  lost  liberty  of  action." 

As  for  what  that  regained  liberty  is  to  mean,  the 
Chancellor  at  the  Court  of  Assize  put  it  in  this  way  : 
When  the  Western  woman  began  to  receive  education, 
and  to  train  her  mind,  her  character  developed  at  the 
same  time.  She  realised  her  rights,  and  proclaimed 
them,  until  she  came  to  co-operate  with  man  in  his 
daily  life.  She  joined  him  in  aspiring  to  knowledge  and 
in  pursuing  it.  She  went  with  him  to  church,  to  public 
gatherings,  and  on  his  travels,  becoming  his  constant 
companion  and  helper.  This  is  the  place  we  aspire  to 
put  our  women  in  in  Islam  ;  especially  I  want  to  see  the 
Egyptian  woman  attain  to  the  same  degree  of  progress  ; 
this  would  be  the  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  Egypt. 
That  some  of  the  ulemas  are  against  us  must  not  deter  us, 
for  many  of  the  leading  authorities  of  Islam  are  with  us, 
indeed,  many  ulemas  of  the  present  day  have  declared 
that  even  the  veil  is  not  insisted  upon  in  our  creed. 
Where  there  are  two  opinions,  and  alternatives,  surely 
all  sensible  men  will  follow  that  most  useful  to 
human  liberty,  and  for  the  good  of  society. 

It  is  my  firm  belief — the  Chancellor  went  on, — that 
the  political  and  social  conditions  of  a  nation  progress 
simultaneously.  Wherever  man  has  degraded  the 
position  of  woman,  the  nation  was  doomed  to  fall,  and 


Photo] 


[Dittrich,  Cairo. 


TAKING  A  DRINK  AT  A  PUBLIC  FOUNTAIN. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    369 

wherever  woman  enjoys  her  personal  liberty,  man  has 
enjoyed  his  political  liberty.  In  the  East  man  has  en- 
slaved woman,  and  he  has  been  enslaved  by  his  ruler  ; 
indoors  he  is  the  oppressor,  out  of  doors  he  is  the 
oppressed.  The  position  we  have  assigned  to  women 
in  Egypt  deserves  our  own  enslavement.  We  have  been 
avenged  upon  by  nature  too  ;  true  happiness  has  been 
denied  us  by  our  own  tyranny  over  women  ;  our  char- 
acter has  been  spoiled — we  are  sick  at  heart. 

But  we  must  strive  to  change  all  this,  to  recognise 
the  true  worth  and  dignity  of  woman,  and  to  give  her 
the  liberty  which  is  her  due,  and  which  will  benefit  our 
manhood  and  the  future  of  our  nation  in  every  way. 
Surely  we  are  all  agreed  that  the  fortunes  of  the  whole 
household  are  in  the  hands  of  the  woman.  Shall  we 
deny  her  every  sort  of  education  to  fit  her  to  perform 
her  duties  nobly.  The  character  of  our  children  is 
in  the  mother's  hands.  I  assert  that  unless  we  put 
woman  in  her  right  position,  making  her  the  equal 
mate  and  friend  of  the  man,  no  advance  is  possible  to 
us.  I  believe  with  the  poet  Schiller  that  no  great  man 
ever  succeeded  in  attaining  his  end  without  having  a 
woman  whom  he  loved  nearest  him. 

I  am  sure  myself,  he  continued,  that  no  man  will 
be  happy  unless  he  is  devoted  to  a  woman  who  is  at  the 
same  time  devoted  and  true  to  him.  No  doubt  the 
Islamic  peoples  are  in  a  backward  condition,  that  needs 
a  speedy  recovery.  Let  us  face  the  facts  of  the  disease, 
and  then  seek  the  cure.  I  am  convinced  that  in  Egypt 
our  retrogression  is  not  due  to  climate,  for  great  things 
have  been  accomplished  in  the  past  in  this  country. 

It  is  not  due  to  Islam  ;   many  are  the  appeals  in  our 
religion  to  strenuous  labour  and  to  progress  ;   and  the 
24 


370        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

history  of  the  glorious  period  of  our  advance  shows 
that  the  obstacles  to  a  great  civilisation  lie  not  in  our 
creed.  Indeed,  we  are  in  our  present  state,  because 
the  principles  and  the  practice  of  primitive  Islam  have 
disappeared.  Fables  and  false  traditions  have  imposed 
upon  the  people,  and  we  have  yielded  ourselves  up  to 
softness  and  vice.  The  core  and  heart  of  our  disease — 
and  I  think  no  one  who  has  studied  the  life  of  the  East 
will  say  that  this  is  not  true — is  that  the  younger  genera- 
tion, after  they  have  completed  their  course  of  study, 
even  to  the  highest  degree,  are  found  lacking  in  character, 
in  proper  feeling,  in  spontaneous  honest  action.  This 
is  the  punishment  for  our  treatment  of  women  (Note 
17).  It  is  because  our  sons  have  not  been  trained  in 
their  conscience  by  their  mothers  in  childhood.  They 
lack  refinement  of  feeling — that  overwhelming  power 
in  shaping  one's  actions — because  we  have  degraded 
the  women,  who  should  teach  us  refinement.  Oh  !  this 
is  why  we  are  unstable  and  corrupt,  and  why  advance 
is  so  slow.  Men  are  not  true  to  themselves.  Thus  we 
see  our  poets  write  excellent  verses  on  love,  while  they 
are  not  inclined  to  love,  themselves.  Our  orators  give 
the  most  rousing  speeches  of  fiery  patriotism,  while 
they  do  not  live  the  lives  of  patriots.  Our  young  men 
profess  inviolate  devotion  to  truth,  but  can  be  bought 
by  those  who  wish  to  silence  them.  Our  religious 
teachers,  whose  lives  are  devoted  to  instructing  the 
people,  are  often  the  last  to  have  true  religious  feeling. 
Lord  Cromer  was  right.  What  the  Egyptian  so 
much  requires  is  not  so  much  that  his  mind  should  be 
trained,  as  that  his  character  should  be  formed.  That 
would  settle  most  of  the  sad  questions  arising  from  the 
decadence  which  overtook  Islam. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

A    NEW    WAY    WITH    MOSLEMS 

"  If  unjust  arguments  are  employed  against  the  faith  of  the  Koran, 
either  the  Moslems  must  have  lost  all  their  characteristic  intelligence 
and  penetration  ...  or  we  may  with  moral  certainty  predict  the  result. 
From  what  they  know  to  be  wrong  in  the  teaching  of  the  Christian 
missionaries,  they  will  naturally  argue  that  what  they  know  not  is  wrong 
also.  From  our  false  estimate  of  Mohammedanism  in  its  civil  and 
intellectual  influences,  they  may,  without  further  examination,  infer 
the  falseness  of  our  estimate  of  its  spiritual  claims.  In  this  way  every 
door  may  be  barred  against  the  admission  of  conviction,  before  the 
saving  truths  of  the  Gospel  have  so  much  as  sounded  in  their  ears." 

Rev.  C.  Forster.  Mohammedanism  Unveiled,  vol.  ii.  p.  377. 

THE  existence  of  such  a  vast  number  of  people  as  the 
Moslems  (it  is  estimated  that  at  the  present  time  there 
are  about  260,000,000  of  them  in  the  world),  all  of  one 
religion,  and  acknowledging  the  authority  of  one  Caliph, 
has  of  necessity  always  demanded  the  attention  of  any 
man  who  dreamed  of  power  in  world  politics. 

There  was  a  period  when  the  contemplation  of  Islam 
fascinated  Napoleon.  When  in  Egypt,  he  went  to 
pray  in  the  mosques,  dressed  as  an  .Arab,  and  he  debated 
with  keenest  interest  on  all  religious  matters  with  in- 
telligent sheikhs.  He  sought  in  many  ways  to  conciliate 
himself  with  the  great  ulemas  of  Al  Azar,  in  Cairo, 
gathering  them  around  him  and  taking  their  counsel 
on  all  occasions,  when  circumstances  permitted.  When 
his  troops  were  starting  for  Egypt  he  impressed  upon 
them  the  duty  of  showing  the  greatest  respect  for  the 
Koran,  the  mosques,  and  the  Imams.  Indeed,  it  was 


371 


372         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

said  that  he  seriously  contemplated  becoming  a 
Moslem. 

In  his  proclamation  in  Cairo  Napoleon  said,  "  The 
French  are  the  true  Moslems.  We  become  better 
Christians  than  before  by  becoming  Moslems.  By  the 
political  alliance  of  France  with  Islam  we  create  a 
military  power  with  which  the  world  must  count.  By 
the  religious  alliance  of  the  Gospel  with  the  Koran  we 
will  make  to  shine  such  a  light  for  the  souls  of  men  as 
they  have  not  yet  seen  "  (Note  18). 

If  this  seems  to  savour  somewhat  of  the  gaudy  periods 
of  the  political  opportunist,  we  may  remember  that 
when  the  hopelessness  of  St.  Helena  gave  candour  to 
his  opinions,  Napoleon  still  often  expressed  his  sympathy 
with  Islam,  and  spoke  of  many  of  its  tenets  with  praise. 

Mr.  Carl  Peters  has  not  hesitated  to  preach  to  the 
German  people  the  importance  of  an  attempt  to  cultivate 
a  friendship  with  Islam,  in  the  hope  of  one  day  using  its 
power  to  help  the  modern  ambitions  of  their  fatherland. 

The  history  of  German  enterprise  in  Egypt  during 
the  last  few  years  goes  to  show  that  these  are  not  mere 
words.  Mr.  Carl  Peters  was  in  Cairo  this  winter  (1912) 
and  proved  that  he  has  abated  nothing  of  the  brutal 
frankness  which  characterises  his  awful  suggestion  to 
fashion  out  of  Islam  the  dynamite  to  blow  into  the  air  the 
rule  of  England  and  France  from  Cape  Nun  to  Calcutta. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  influence  of  Germany, 
so  studiously  and  daringly  cultivated  in  Constantinople, 
hasbeen  weakened  of  late  by  the  suspicions  of  the  Moslems 
that  the  war  in  Tripoli  would  never  have  occurred  but 
for  the  encouragement  given  by  Germany  to  Italy, 
and  later  by  suspicions  that  she  was  suggesting  to,  Russia 
the  break-up  of  Turkey.  And  yet  it  seems  but  the 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    373 

other  day  since  the  German  Emperor  suggested  to  his 
"  friend  and  ally,"  the  Sultan,  that  a  Holy  War  (Jihad) 
should  be  preached  in  China  against  the  Manchu  tyranny. 

If  Pan-Islamism  is  one  of  the  nightmares  which 
occasionally  visit  some  parts  of  Europe,  the  "  Yellow 
Peril  "  has  never  lost  its  terrors  for  the  rulers  of  Germany. 
That  both  these  "  perils  "  may  be  closely  allied  has 
never  been  sufficiently  realised. 

There  is  an  immense  Moslem  population  in  China, 
which, as  knowledge  of  that  land  of  mystery  has  grown,  has 
been  found  to  be  larger  than  had  been  previously  sus- 
pected. Indeed  there  have  not  been  wanting  men  who 
have  asserted  that  this  is  destined  to  be  the  national  faith 
of  the  China  of  the  future.  "  If  China,"  wrote  Professor 
Vasil'ev,  a  Russian,  "  which  contains  at  least  one-third 
of  the  human  race,  were  to  be  converted  into  a  Moham- 
medan empire,  the  political  relations  of  the  whole 
East  would  be  considerably  modified.  The  world  of 
Islam,  stretching  from  Gibraltar  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
might  again  lift  up  its  head.  Islam  might  and  would 
threaten  Christendom,  and  the  peaceful  activity  of 
the  Chinese  people,  which  is  now  so  profitable  to  the 
rest  of  the  world,  would,  in  the  hands  of  fanatics,  be 
turned  into  a  yoke  upon  the  necks  of  other  nations." 
"  Again,  if  Islam  some  day  succeeds  in  establishing  its 
political  supremacy  over  China,  and  then  claims  the 
allegiance  of  the  mass  of  the  population  to  its  faith, 
will  it  meet  with  a  refusal  ?  We  think  not,  for  such  a 
change  will  seem  infinitely  easier  to  the  Chinese  than  the 
change  of  costume  which  took  place  on  the  accession 
of  the  reigning  dynasty."  With  regard  to  numbers, 
a  Moslem  writer  several  years  ago  declared  that  the 
people  of  Islam  were  increasing  enormously ;  that 


374         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

they  then  numbered  70,000,000,  not  including  the 
people  of  Kasgar,  though  other  estimates  vary  from  three 
to  twenty  millions. 

Whether  we  consider  these  alarmist  views  seriously 
or  not,  there  is  no  doubt  that  recent  developments  in 
China  have  rekindled  the  alarms  of  Germany.  Mr. 
Carl  Peters  believes  that  the  changes  of  this  very  year 
in  the  Far  East,  which  have  turned  the  most  ancient 
monarchy  in  the  world  into  a  "  modern  republic  after 
the  American  pattern,"  whose  first  act  was  to  decide 
on  conscription  of  the  whole  gigantic  nation  after  the 
German  model,  will  before  long  make  it  imperative 
for  the  British,  German,  and  American  nations  to  safe- 
guard the  future  of  our  race  and  the  development  of 
our  culture.  "  For  Europe  the  Yellow  Peril  has  become 
a  reality."  He  thinks  that  necessity  from  the  Far  East 
will  one  day  press  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Germany 
into  a  "  United  States  of  Europe." 

It  might  seem  an  unnecessary  thing  to  press  the 
importance  of  a  careful  study  of  Islam  on  the  British 
people,  in  whose  Empire  are  more  followers  of  this  faith 
than  belong  to  any  other  power — in  India  alone  we  rule 
65,000,000  Moslems.  But  the  fact  should  be  faced, 
that  our  ignorance  on  this  subject  is  nothing  short  of 
appalling,  and  comparatively  little  is  being  done  to 
lessen  it  by  those  who  are  sent  to  govern  these  people, 
or  even  by  those  who  go  to  them  with  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  We  seem  to  carry  with  us  a  constitutional 
dislike  of  the  Eastern  people,  which  makes  sympathy 
almost  impossible,  while  our  preconceived  notions  lead 
us  to  misjudge  them  in  almost  every  particular. 

Ruskin  makes  use  of  some  very  remarkable  words, 
which  may  be  pondered  in  this  connection.  In  the 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    375 

East,  it  is  asserted,  the  people  all  manifest  in  a  hundred 
ways  the  great  fact  of  their  belief  in  God.  With  the 
Western,  on  the  contrary,  the  outward  form  of  practising 
a  belief  in  a  God,  is  a  thing  to  be  half-ashamed  of — 
something  to  hide — a  deep  difference  between  the 
East  and  the  WTest  lying  beneath  the  incompatibility  of 
temper  on  the  part  of  modern  Englishmen  to  accept 
the  religious  habit  of  thought  in  the  East.  The  first 
law  of  the  East  is  prayer  to  God  ;  and  whether  the  shrine 
be  Jerusalem,  Mecca,  or  Lhassa,  the  sanctity  of  worship 
surrounds  the  votary  and  protects  the  pilgrim.  All 
prayer  is  holy  in  the  sight  of  the  Oriental,  whatever 
the  creed  or  the  form ;  it  is  inconceivable  to  him  that 
any  man  can  show  scorn  at  the  sight  of  any  other  man 
whatever  engaged  in  prayer. 

Into  this  life  comes  the  Englishman,  frequently 
destitute  of  one  touch  of  sympathy  with  the  prayers  of 
any  people,  or  the  faith  of  any  creed ;  hence  our  rule 
in  the  East  has  ever  rested,  and  will  ever  rest,  upon  the 
bayonet.  We  have  never  got  beyond  the  stage  of  con- 
quest, never  assimilated  a  people  to  our  ways.  It 
almost  seems  that  the  qualities  which  render  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  successful  in  conquest — sternness,  and  a  proud- 
ness  of  self-trust  which  can  be  repellant — disqualify 
him  for  the  subtle  and  delicate  task  of  assimilating 
subject  races,  and  winning  their  confidence  and  affec- 
tion. It  is  curious,  for  instance,  how  frequently  a 
well-meaning  Briton  will  speak  of  a  foreign  church  or 
temple  as  though  it  had  presented  itself  to  his  mind 
in  the  same  light  in  which  the  City  of  London  appeared 
to  Blucher — as  something  to  loot. 

Not  only  are  we  wanting  in  sympathy,  but  we  so 
cultivate  our  insularity  of  mind  as  to  make  it  almost 


376        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

impossible  for  us  to  gain  any  real  knowledge  of  the 
people  we  govern.  Contempt,  allied  to  a  narrow  pre- 
conception, must  breed  ignorance  ;  for  scorn  of  the 
sensitive  and  proud  people  of  the  East  closes  all  avenues 
to  anything  approaching  understanding  of  their  ways 
of  thought  and  the  manner  of  their  lives. 

Lord  Cromer  has  said  "  nothing  is  commonplace 
in  these  strange  lands."  It  is  true.  The  mere  fact 
that  everything  the  Oriental  does  or  thinks  is  almost  an 
exact  opposite  from  the  acts  and  thoughts  of  the  people 
of  the  West  would  alone  account  for  this.  I  give  a 
few  instances — the  subject  might  fill  a  volume  : — 

In  the  West  we  wear  our  best  clothes  when  we  go 
to  church.  It  is  not  seemly  to  attend  the  mosque  in 
anything  but  plain  apparel ;  at  the  great  prayers  of 
the  Feasts  the  desert  Arabs  lay  aside  all  their  gorgeous 
robes  and  don  plain,  undecorated  white. 

With  us  punctuality  is  taught  as  a  virtue  ;  and  to 
this  end  our  earliest  ambition  is  to  possess  a  watch. 
My  Arab  friends  always  good-naturedly  laugh  at  the 
idea  that  I  should  give  myself  so  much  trouble  in  keeping 
appointments — even  uncongenial  ones.  In  his  pictuesque 
way  one  of  them  said  to  me,  "  Sir,  you  carry  about 
with  you  in  your  pocket  a  little  Sultan  who  rules  over 
you  !  " 

It  seemed  strange  to  me,  at  first,  on  leaving  the 
hotel  in  the  desert  oasis,  to  find  that  my  humble 
friends,  who  were  sitting  on  the  mats  by  tlie  door,  did 
not  rise  when  I  spoke  to' them.  I  should  have  "  ordered 
the  beggars  to  stand  up."  But  with  patience  I  soon 
discovered  that  they  remained  sitting  because  they 
would  not  do  me  the  injustice  of  suggesting  that  I  was 
an  arrogant  man  who  would  require  a  poorer  man  to 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    377 

rise  at  his  approach.  The  Prophet — on  whom  be 
blessings  and  peace — would  never  do  such  a  thing. 
In  the  hotels  in  Egypt  the  native  servants  have  positive 
instructions  always  to  stand  when  a  European  appears. 
I  have  heard  an  Englishwoman  soundly  rating  her  own 
Arab  servant  for  momentary  forgetfulness  in  this  matter. 
I  have  also  heard  the  private  opinions  of  native  men, 
fresh  from  primitive  Moslem  communities,  on  the 
subject  of  Western  manners. 

A  short  time  since  a  poor  tramp  in  Egypt,  shivering 
with  cold  in  the  night,  lay  down  to  sleep  on  the  top  of 
a  brick  kiln.  Later  on  the  kiln  was  fired,  and  in  the 
morning  the  charred  remains  of  the  wayfarer  were 
found  where  he  had  slept.  At  the  inquest,  to  the  English 
official's  intense  surprise,  the  native  jury  found  a  verdict 
of  "  died  from  cold."  "  But  the  poor  man  was  burnt 
to  a  cinder,"  he  insisted.  "  No  !  what  he  died  of  was 
the  cold  that  led  him  to  go  to  sleep  on  the  kiln  !  " 

An  Englishman  (Lord  Cromer  mentions  this),  who 
was  a  keen  observer  of  Egyptian  manners  and  customs, 
tells  that  as  a  test  of  intelligence  he  once  asked  a  fellah 
to  point  to  his  left  ear.  A  European  would  certainly 
have  taken  hold  of  the  lobe  of  his  left  ear  with  his  left 
hand.  The  Egyptian  passed  his  right  hand  over  the 
top  of  his  head,  and  with  that  hand  grasped  the  upper 
part  of  his  left  ear. 

A  lady  who  has  lived  the  greater  part  of  her  life 
with  Arab  people  told  me  this  anecdote.  She  had 
often  talked  to  men,  who  were  fathers,  about  the  idea, 
so  distasteful  to  her  mind,  of  the  daughters  being  sold 
in  marriage.  This  was  near  Algiers,  where  there  are 
many  rich  English  residents.  One  day  one  of  these 
Arab  fathers  appeared  at  the  lady's  house,  and  asked 


378         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

naively  if  it  was  true  that  a  certain  young  English  lady 
living  near  was  betrothed.  Yes,  it  was  true.  Was 
it  true,  as  the  Arab  had  heard,  that  her  father  was 
giving  her  a  handsome  fortune  to  take  to  her  husband. 
"  Yes  !  it  is  the  English  custom  for  a  rich  father  to  give 
his  daughter  a  dowry  on  her  marriage."  "  Ah  !  "  he 
retorted  reflectively,  but  with  a  provoking  twinkle  in 
his  eye,  "  I  see  how  it  is.  In  England  the  fathers  hold 
their  girls  so  cheaply  that  they  give  them  away,  and  even 
pay  their  husbands  for  taking  them.  With  us,  they  are 
so  dear  to  us  that  before  we  will  let  them  go  the  man 
who  desires  them  must  pay  a  handsome  price." 

The  very  arrangement  of  the  Koran  itself  is  an 
instance  of  this  appositiveness  ;  the  long  chapters  are 
put  first,  and  they  gradually  fine  down  to  the  shortest 
chapters,  although  the  longest  Suras  were  in  nearly 
every  case  the  last  to  have  been  written,  and  the  shortest 
were  the  ones  first  written.  No  one  has  altogether 
realised,  I  think,  the  misapprehension  and  confusion 
this  apparently  small  matter  has  brought  to  European 
minds.  One  glance  at  Sale's  arrangement  of  the  Koran, 
which  is  the  translation  Carlyle  read,  and  one  under- 
stands why  he  found  it  "  a  wearisome,  confused  jumble, 
crude,  incondite."  In  Rodwell's  arrangement  I  find 
the  Koran  continuously  interesting. 

And  so  on  ad  infinitum.  What  I  hope  is  clear  is, 
how  impossible  it  is  for  the  European  to  look  at  the 
world  with  the  same  eyes  as  the  Oriental.  Reasoning 
from  the  same  premises,  the  two  peoples  will  nearly 
always  arrive  at  diametrically  opposite  conclusions ; 
which  all  shows  how  much  care  needs  to  be  exercised 
before  we  criticise  the  things — and  especially  the 
religious  things — of  the  East,  drawing  arguments  from 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    379 

English  experience  to  apply  them  to  circumstances 
which  do  not  admit  of  any  such  reasoning  being  applied 
without  great  qualifications ;  and  how  more  than  foolish 
it  is  to  give  any  excuse  for  the  intelligent  Oriental  to 
say  of  us — "  he  regards  everything  with  contempt  for 
being  so  un-European,  or  more  particularly,  un-English." 

No  one  can  claim,  I  believe,  that  we  have  been  careful 
to  study  the  life  and  religion  of  Islam  (life  and  religion 
here  are  entirely  inseparable)  before  we  have  scorned, 
and  often  contemned  or  denounced  it.  And  such 
ignorance  as  is  shown  has  not  been  confined  to  casual 
observers,  or  to  those  writers  who  take  their  foreign 
travel  in  pilules,  and  care  only  to  be  breezingly  amusing 
(in  the  way  of  Mr.  Douglas  Sladen,  for  instance),  and 
are  utterly  harum-scarum  and  irresponsible.  In  that 
great  work  on  Modern  Egypt,  in  which  all  the  facts 
concerning  the  material  position  of  the  country  are  set 
forth  with  such  a  masterly  hand,  Lord  Cromer  yet 
falls  into  errors  about  the  Moslem  religion  which  are 
surprising. 

It  was  in  commenting  on  this  work  that  a  distin- 
guished sheikh  said  to  me,  "  How  easy  your  task  would 
be  in  Egypt  if  you  only  approached  the  people  in  a 
different  spirit.  It  is  only  by  true  respect  and  under- 
standing of  their  faith  and  their  religious  principles 
that  Europeans  have  any  chance  of  making  themselves 
sympathetic  to  the  Moslems.  All  that  you  can  say  to 
us  about  prosperity  and  budgets  will  touch  us  but 
feebly.  And  this  is  all  you  want  to  talk  to  us  about ; 
and  Lord  Kitchener  apparently  is  determined,  from 
the  repression  he  is  now  practising  in  Egypt,  on  the 
Press  and  the  students'  religious  demonstrations  especi- 
ally, that  we  shall  talk  of  nothing  else." 


380        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

The  Bishop  of  Lahore,  who  has  over  a  hundred 
clergy  in  his  diocese,  called  his  staff  together  when  he 
had  been  a  short  time  in  India,  to  tell  them  of  his  great 
disappointment  at  the  want  of  knowledge  he  found,  on 
their  part,  of  the  details  of  the  religion  of  the  Moslem 
people  amongst  whom  some  of  them  had  been  working 
for  many  years.  When  he  had  inquired  of  his  own 
clergy  concerning  points  of  traditional  lore  which 
affected  the  everyday  customs  of  the  people — ignorance 
of  which  I  suspect  would  completely  shut  any  man  out 
of  their  lives  —  not  one  of  them  could  enlighten 
him. 

Just  as  the  people  of  the  West  in  the  middle  ages 
had  to  learn  how  much  they  had  been  deceived  by  the 
foul  abuse  which  was  flung  at  the  Moslems  by  the  Popes 
and  others  who  were  interested  in  stimulating  the 
fanatical  zeal  of  the  Crusades,  and  respectable  historians 
began  to  drop  those  vulgar  charges ;  so,  I  think,  the  time 
must  come,  if  we  are  not  altogether  to  fail  of  our  oppor- 
tunity to  help  these  millions  of  our  fellow-men,  when 
we  too  must  advance  beyond  the  ignorant  prejudices 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  which  still  limit  the  judgment 
of  most  Englishmen. 

We  do  not  now  speak  of  the  "  dogs  of  infidels,"  as 
did  Catherine  of  Sienna,  following  the  custom  of  her 
day.  The  vulgarity  of  the  introduction  to  the  first 
English  translation  of  the  Koran,  published  in  London 
in  1649,  belongs  happily  to  a  past  age :  "  Good  reader, 
the  great  Arabian  impostor,  now  at  last,  after  a  thousand 
years,  is,  by  way  of  France,  arrived  in  England,  and 
his  Alcoran,  or  Galli-manfry  of  Errors  (a  brat  as  deformed 
as  the  Parent,  and  as  full  of  heresies  as  his  scald  head  was 
of  scurf),  hath  learned  to  speak  in  English." 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    381 

I  fancy  that  very  few  men  now  seek,  as  Martin 
Luther  did,  to  identify  Mohammed  with  Daniel's 
"  Little  Horn,"  to  show  that  fire  and  brimstone  must 
come  upon  him.  Luther's  translation  of  Brother 
Richard's  exordium  is  as  much  out  of  tune  with  these 
times  as  his  own  epilogue  is,  in  which  he  arrived  at 
the  final  conclusion  that  of  two  monsters,  "  the  Pope 
is  worse  than  Mohammed,"  who  is  thus  described : 
"  At  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Heraclius  there  arose  a 
man,  yea,  a  Devil,  and  first-born  son  of  Satan  .  .  . 
who  wallowed  in  ...  and  he  was  dealing  in  the  Black 
Art,  and  his  name  was  Machumet." 

Melanchthon  thought  Mohammed  was  inspired  by 
Satan,  and  "  his  sect  is  altogether  made  up  of  blasphemy, 
robbery,  and  shameful  lusts."  As  for  the  Koran,  "  it 
needs  not  concern  us  any  more  than  the  portents  of 
the  Egyptians,  who  invoked  snakes  and  cats."  Eventu- 
ally, however,  these  things,  and  the  silly  curses  of  such 
men  as  Prideaux  and  Spanheim  and  d'Herbelot,  gave 
way,  step  by  step  almost,  to  more  temperate  protests, 
more  decent  names,  less  outrageous  misrepresentations 
of  both  the  faith  and  its  founder  ;  until  Goethe  and 
Carlyle  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  modern  phalanx  of 
investigators  —  Sprenger,  Amari,  Noldeke,  Muir,  and 
Dozy — on  the  other,  have  given  the  world  at  large  the 
opportunity  of  knowing  that  "  Mohammedanism  is  a 
thing  of  vitality,  fraught  with  a  thousand  fruitful 
germs ;  and  that  Mohammed,  whatever  view  of  his 
character  is  held,  has  earned  a  place  in  the  golden  book 
of  Humanity  "  (Note  19). 

Unfortunately  prejudice  has  been  slow  to  give  way 
to  such  a  presentation  of  the  truth,  and  a  more  polite 
mode  of  speech  does  not  hide  a  contempt  which  lingers, 


382        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

or  disguise  views  which  are  almost  as  wanting  in  under- 
standing as  their  coarser  forerunners. 

When  a  Moslem  review — Arafate — was  started  in 
Cairo,  a  year  or  two  since,  to  discuss,  in  the  French 
language,  the  affairs  of  Islam,  a  strong  protest  was 
entered  by  a  number  of  leading  Moslems,  who  said, 
"  Do  not  let  us  speak  of  our  religion  in  a  European 
language  :  these  strangers  do  not  understand  us." 

It  is  this  conviction  which  accounts  for  the  reserve 
towards  us  which  has  become  a  habit,  and  puts  almost 
insuperable  difficulties  in  the  way  of  those  who  seriously 
desire  to  understand  the  Eastern  peoples.  The  Moslem 
expects  the  European  to  ridicule  him,  or,  what  is  worse, 
to  refer  to  the  Prophet  in  terms  of  insult,  or  to  pour 
scorn  upon  the  Holy  Koran.  A  pious  young  friend  of 
mine  declined  an  introduction  to  a  missionary  of  my 
acquaintance,  although  I  explained  that  he  worked  as 
a  doctor  of  medicine  in  Egypt,  on  the  ground  that  "  all 
missionaries  refer  to  our  Prophet  in  a  way  that  is  insult- 
ing." Many  of  the  great  ulemas  are  against  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  Koran  with  unbelievers,  because  they  say 
that  the  few  Europeans  who  have  ever  read  it  did  so 
with  the  object  of  turning  it  to  ridicule  (Note  20). 
"  Keep  away  from  the  insulters  "  was  the  recent  advice 
of  a  leading  sheikh  in  Cairo  to  young  men. 

It  was  interesting  to  me  to  find  how  keen  was  the 
Moslem's  appreciation  of  such  European  writers  as  had 
dealt  seriously,  and  with  respect,  with  their  religion. 
Lamartine,  for  instance,  Ruskin,  Pere  Hyacinthe,  and 
Tolstoi  are  famous  authors  whose  works  are  all  read  by 
cultured  Moslems  with  appreciation,  because  they  know 
that  the  tone  they  adopt  towards  Islam  is  fair  and 
generous ;  and  in  some  cases  the  influence  gained  by 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    383 

these  writers  for  anything,  on  whatever  subject,  they 
have  to  say,  is  founded  on  nothing  more  than  a  kindly 
passing  reference  to  the  religion  of  the  Prophet. 

As  far  as  Egypt  is  concerned,  it  has  been  the  fault 
of  nearly  all  books  dealing  with  that  country,  that  the 
writers  have  been  occupied  with  everything  but  an 
attempt  to  know  the  living  people.  The  glories  of 
ancient  Egypt,  the  charm  of  the  Nile,  descriptions  of 
the  sunset  over  the  minarets  of  Cairo,  or  over  the  red 
hills  of  Nubia,  word-painting  of  the  externals  of  native 
life,  such  as  Harriet  Martineau  did  so  perfectly  :  these 
have  been  produced  to  infinity.  And  almost  always 
the  people,  so  far  as  they  have  come  into  these  books, 
have  not  been  real  people,  but  part  of  the  scenery.  Miss 
Martineau,  who  never  showed  a  trace  of  understanding 
of  the  dwellers  by  the  Nile,  could  yet  write  with  senti- 
ment of  the  Pharaohs,  and  of  "  him  who  sleeps  in  Philae." 
She  thought  a  hareem  was  a  brothel,  and  indiscrimin- 
ately spoke  of  Moslems,  Copts,  and  Greeks  as  though 
an  unfathomable  gulf  divided  them  from  English  people 
(Note  21). 

We  smile,  perhaps,  at  the  idea  of  the  hareem,  but 
have  we  really  advanced  much  beyond  such  crude 
notions  of  the  inner  life  of  the  East,  A  leering  use  of 
the  word  hareem  (I  have  spelt  it  in  this  way  because  the 
accent  is  on  the  ^,  and  not  as  English  people  always 
pronounce  it),  which  simply  means  "  reserved,"  is  good 
enough  to  make  the  success  of  a  play  which  still  travels 
the  provinces  of  England.  In  many  towns  I  have  seen 
the  placards  announcing  "  The  Secrets  of  the  H****m  " 
— the  thing  having  gained  an  advertisement  from  the 
protest  of  the  Turkish  Ambassador  in  London,  when 
the  word  was  spelt  without  the  stars. 


384         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

And  for  our  guidance  we  take  such  widely  read 
melodrama,  with  its  "  green  turban  "  and  backsheesh 
fictions,  and  cut-throat  thrills  of  Sir  Gilbert  Parker,  or 
the  false  colouring  of  Miss  Marie  Corelli,  who  does 
not  know  one  side  of  the  Nile  from  the  other,  and  can 
speak  of  the  shade  of  an  avenue  of  palms  from  Cairo 
to  the  pyramids  !  Or  of  all  Mr.  Hall  Caine's  misleading 
though  sympathetic  raving  in  A  White  Prophet. 

But  what  are  the  usual  views  on  the  religious  subjects 
dealt  with  in  the  foregoing  chapters,  but  equal  travesties 
of  the  truth  ?  The  savage  libels  of  the  Popes,  invented 
— in  Rome — to  stir  the  Crusading  fire,  have,  to  some 
extent,  become  embedded  in  the  Western  mind,  and 
many  people  still  think  with  Peter  the  Hermit,  that  the 
Moslem  is  "  the  enemy  of  God,"  a  savage  fanatic,  an 
unbridled  debauchee,  and  that  the  "  sword  of  Islam  " 
is  ever  raised  to  strike  the  Christian's  neck  if  he  will  not 
"  protest  the  faith " ;  that  the  Moslem  invariably 
enjoys  a  plurality  of  wives  (and  other  inmates  of  the 
hareem)  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  women  are  denied 
even  the  possession  of  a  soul,  and  that  he  looks  forward 
to  an  entirely  sensual  Paradise.  "  Islam  defies  your 
King !  "  was  the  motto  cabled  by  Cairo  student 
volunteers  to  the  London  Conference,  1900. 

My  opinion  is  that  until  we  get  close  to  the  real 
'people,  no  understanding  of  any  of  these  questions  is 
at  all  possible.  Detached  from  all  the  modifications 
and  limitations  which  come  into  man's  life,  and  taking 
no  count  of  his  power  of  adaptability,  any  Western 
statement  of  such  questions  as  those  of  divorce,  for 
instance,  or  polygamy,  will  be  utterly  misleading.  It 
could  never  be  supposed  from  the  ordinary  generalisa- 
tion of  the  West,  that  the  liberty  of  women  is  in  some 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    385 

ways  greater  under  Islamic  than  under  Christian  laws ; 
that  infinitely  greater  justice  is  done  her,  for  instance, 
in  the  matter  of  inheritance  and  the  control  of  her  own 
fortune,  or  that,  if  a  husband  fails  in  justice  in  the 
material  affairs  of  life,  the  wife  may  sue  for  divorce,  or 
that  polygamy,  the  mere  mention  of  which  causes 
horror  to  the  Western  mind,  can  cover  the  most  self- 
denying  and  even  chivalrous  acts.  In  Egypt  many  a 
man  has  married  a  brother's  widow,  or  other  poor 
relative,  for  no  reason  but  to  give  her  the  protection 
of  his  name,  while  in  this  way  alone  was  he  able  to  offer 
her  a  home. 

The  life  of  the  Prophet  himself  can  never  be  under- 
stood until  the  savage  onslaught  in  the  matter  of  the 
hareem  is  stayed  while  the  attempt  is  made  to  tinder- 
stand  the  nature  of  most  of  his  marriages.  To  speak  of 
his  nine  wives,  is  always  thought  to  establish  the  charge 
of  gross  sensuality.  Scarcely  a  Christian  writer  has 
paused  to  explain  that  it  is  quite  honestly  maintained 
by  reputable  Moslem  historians  that  with  the  exception 
of  Ayesh — whose  father  begged  the  honour  of  marriage 
for  his  daughter — all  these  women  were  widows,  and 
many  of  them  old,  when  the  Prophet  married  them. 
One — Sawdah — he  saved  from  an  inevitable  return  to 
idolatry ;  others  from  poverty  and  neglect ;  Zeinab, 
they  assert,  he  married  for  no  reason  but  to  set  right  a 
point  of  law,  for  she  was  hopelessly  ill  at  the  time,  and 
died  a  few  months  later  ;  while  other  unions  were 
arranged  for  political  ends,  and  to  extend  and  strengthen 
his  religion  and  government. 

The  great  point  is — it  seems  to  me — what  were  the 
principles  of  Mohammed's  mind  on  the  subject  of 
women  ?  It  is  abundantly  clear  that  he  always  preached 
25 


386        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  kindness  he  never  failed  to  show  ;  to  wrong  a  woman 
lie  denounced  as  great  wickedness.  Mohammed  never 
divorced  a  wife,  nor  chastised  one,  although  he  con- 
sidered this  allowable,  and  he  was  certainly  provoked. 
It  was  because  of  an  outrage  by  a  Jew  on  the  modesty 
of  a  Moslem  girl  that  the  Prophet's  first  rage  against 
the  Jews  was  raised.  As  Sheikh  Rashid  Rida  reminded 
me,  one  of  the  best  known  sayings  of  the  Prophet  is, "  Do 
no  harm  to  a  woman  ;  he  who  does  her  harm  is  a  very 
wicked  man."  His  constant  advice  to  his  followers  was 
to  live  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  a  pure  example  to  their 
wives  and  children  ;  for  "  religion  is  good  character." 

But  Mr.  Zwemer  does  not  hesitate  to  go  to  the 
coarsest  of  Eastern  writers  to  traduce  the  Prophet  in 
this  matter,  "which  must  be  shrouded  from  decent  eyes," 
quoting  a  recent  writer  in  "  a  leading  Missionary 
Magazine  "  :  "  We  must  pass  the  matter  over,  simply 
noting  that  there  are  depths  of  filth  in  the  Prophet's 
character  which  may  assort  well  enough  with  the  de- 
praved sensuality  of  the  bulk  of  his  followers,  ...  but 
which  are  simply  loathsome  in  the  eyes  of  all  over  whom 
Christianity  in  any  measure  or  degree  has  influence." 
These  disgusting  things,  asserts  this  writer,  are  the 
fireside  literature  of  educated  Moslems.  This  sort  of 
abuse  really  carries  us  back  again  to  Crusading  times,  when 
men  were  told  that  the  Koran  was  a  "  bestial  work," 
not  to  be  read,  but  burnt ;  and  that  Mohammed  was 
"  of  all  monsters  the  greatest — more  filthy  than  mud." 

The  Sheikh  Rashid  Rida,  as  well  as  every  educated 
Moslem  to  whom  I  referred  this  terrible  charge,  gave 
the  lie  direct  to  such  a  statement.  They  said  that 
Insan  el  Ayun  and  Ibn  Ishak  were  mere  story-tellers, 
and  not  historians  at  all  ;  hut  that  Hakhari,  whose  name 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    387 

Mr.  Zwcmer  links  with  theirs  as  his  authorities,  is  a 
reputable  historian,  and  be  never  tells  of  such  things  as 
are  hinted  at. 

Do  these  writers  forget  the  sort  of  talk  Chaucer's 
pilgrims  indulged  in  whilst  on  a  religious  errand ;  or 
the  indecent  references  (to  present  ideas)  on  every 
page  of  Sliakespe;ire,  which  were  apparently  suited  to  tlir 
English  fireside  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  to  say  nothing 
of  I  IK-  more  grossly  lewd  writings  of  Shakespeare's  con-- 
temporaries. Have  they  no  sense  of  justice  sufficient 
to  cause  them  to  realise  what  the  standard  in  such 
matters  would  be  in  Arabia  in  the  seventh  century  ? 

And  as  a  literary  sheikh,  a  man  with  an  Oxford 
degree,  said  to  me,  with  an  impulsive  rage  at  certain 
recent  attacks  upon  Islam :  "  There  is  polygamy  and 
massacre  enough  and  to  spare  in  the  Bible,  and  its 
heroes  are  in  no  way  exempt  from  human  frailties.  Why 
do  your  writers  act  as  though  all  the  Christians  must  be 
angels  and  all  the  Moslems  tigers  ?  And  what  do  the 
Christian  missionaries  think  they  gain  by  showing  such 
contempt  and  even  hatred  for  the  Oriental  people  ? 
Do  they  think  we  could  ever  be  induced  to  listen  to  any 
message  they  may  wish  to  deliver  to  us  after  they  have 
covered  all  that  we  hold  most  sacred  with  such  abuse  ? 
We  do  not  insult  you,  or  condemn  your  religion.  It  has 
been  said  that,  notwithstanding  the  copiousness  of  the 
Arabic  language,  it  has  no  forms  of  expression,  to  describe 
any  race,  which  are  contemptible  or  insulting.  The 
insults  to  our  Prophet  .by  some  modern  writers  are  atro- 
cious ;  in  the  case  of  a  man  like  l'i  ofcssor  D.  S.  Margoliouth 
(particularly  in  his  Life  of  Mohammed),  they  show  that 
entire  lack  of  understanding  of  Islam,  which  appears 
in  all  these  writings ;  but  on  the  part  of  missionaries 


388         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

they  betray,  to  my  mind,  not  only  want  of  just  historic 
judgment,  but  an  egregious  folly.  Every  mention  a 
Moslem  makes  of  the  Prophet  shows  our  veneration 
for  him.  No  one  of  us  believes  of  him  such  charges  as 
Christian  writers  concoct.  All  we  know  of  him  teaches 
us  that  he  had  elevation  of  mind,  delicacy  and  refine- 
ment of  feeling.  '  He  is  more  modest  than  a  virgin 
behind  her  curtain,'  it  was  said  of  him.  Khadijah,  the 
one  wife  with  whom  he  lived  so  many  years,  paid  con- 
stant tribute  to  the  purity  of  his  character.  '  Thou  art 
of  a  good  life,'  she  said.  His  earliest  converts  reported 
of  him  to  the  King  of  Abyssinia  :  '  A  Prophet  arose 
whom  we  knew  from  our  youth,  with  whose  descent 
and  conduct  and  good  faith  and  morality  we  are  well 
acquainted.'  He  always  exhibited  a  noble  forbearance 
and  forgiveness.  He  hated  shams  and  lying,  and — 
strange  as  it  may  seem  to  Western  critics — the  Prophet 
himself  gave  no  encouragement  to  the  superstitions 
which  crept  into  Islam — just  as  our  Lord  Jesus,  on 
whom  be  blessings  and  peace,  said  no  word  that  could 
excuse  the  superstitions  which  later  crept  into  the 
Christian  religion,  and  still  linger  there  in  the  races 
which  are  predisposed  to  them  (Note  22). 

"  Men  who  knew  the  Prophet  intimately  conceived 
for  him  a  profound  attachment.  One  of  the  first 
martyrs,  Urwah  ibn  Mas'nd,  counted  it  an  honour  to 
run  all  risks  to  carry  the  message  he  received  from  the 
Prophet's  lips  to  his  fellow-countrymen  in  Ta'if.  While 
he  was  preaching  he  was  mortally  wounded  by  an  arrow, 
and  died  giving  thanks  to  God  for  having  granted  him 
such  a  glorious  end. 

"  But  I  grow  enthusiastic  in  defence  of  the  Prophet 
against  the  slanders  of  men  who  are  ill-fitted  to  form  a 


Photo}  {Lekegian,  Cairo. 

OUTSIDE  ONE  OF  THE  OLD-FASHIONED  KORAN  SCHOOLS — KUTTABS — 
IN  CAIRO. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    389 

just  judgment,"  continued  the  sheikh.  "  You  will 
suspect  my  special  pleading.  Happily,  not  all  English 
writers  are  so  ignorant  and  unfair.  Some  years  since, 
a  great  Christian  Oriental  scholar  (whose  work  I  believe 
inspired  Mr.  Bosworth  Smith  to  so  ably  defend  Islam 
against  such  attacks)  went  to  all  the  available  docu- 
ments, in  a  scientific  and  historical  spirit,  to  learn  the 
character  of  Mohammed  from  the  testimony  of  his 
contemporaries.  This  is  the  genial  picture  which  he 
painted  of  our  hero  : — 

"  '  Mohammed  was  most  indulgent  to  his  inferiors, 
and  would  never  allow  his  awkward  little  page  to  be 
scolded,  whatever  he  did.  "  Ten  years,"  said  Anas,  his 
servant,  "  was  I  about  the  Prophet,  and  he  never  said  as 
much  as  '  uff '  to  me."  He  was  very  affectionate  to- 
wards his  family.  One  of  his  boys  died  on  his  breast, 
in  the  smoky  house  of  the  nurse,  a  blacksmith's  wife. 
He  was  very  fond  of  children.  He  would  stop  them  in 
the  streets  and  pat  their  little  cheeks. 

" '  He  never  struck  anyone  in  his  life.  The  worst 
expression  he  ever  made  use  of  in  conversation  was, 
"  What  has  come  to  him  ?  May  his  forehead  be  darkened 
with  mud  !  "  When  asked  to  curse  someone,  he  replied, 
"  I  have  not  been  sent  to  curse,  but  to  be  a  mercy  to 
mankind."  He  visited  the  sick,  followed  any  bier  he  met, 
accepted  the  invitation  of  a  slave  to  dinner,  mended  his 
own  clothes,  milked  his  own  goats,  and  waited  upon 
himself,  relates  summarily  another  tradition. 

"  '  "  He  never  first  withdrew  his  hand  out  of  another 
man's  palm,  and  turned  not  before  the  other  had 
turned."  "  His  hand,"  we  read  elsewhere — and  tradi- 
tions like  these  give  a  good  index  of  what  the  Arabs 
expected  their  Prophet  to  be — "  was  the  most  generous, 
his  breast  the  most  courageous,  his  tongue  the  most 
truthful ;  he  was  the  most  faithful  protector  of  those 


390        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

he  protected,  the  sweetest  and  most  agreeable  in  con- 
versation ;  those  who  saw  him  were  suddenly  filled 
with  reverence,  those  who  came  near  him  loved  him." 

"  '  He  was  of  great  taciturnity,  and  when  he  spoke, 
he  spoke  with  emphasis  and  deliberation,  and  no  one 
could  ever  forget  what  he  said.  He  was,  however,  very 
nervous  and  restless  withal,  often  low  spirited,  downcast 
as  to  heart  and  eyes.  Yet  he  would  at  times  suddenly 
break  through  these  broodings,  become  gay,  talkative, 
jocular,  chiefly  among  his  own.  He  would  then  delight 
in  telling  amusing  little  stories,  fairy-tales,  and  the  like. 
He  would  romp  with  the  children  and  play  with  their 
toys.' 


"  That  is  the  man  whom  Moslems  revere.  If  the 
Western  people  would  forget  their  preconceptions  and 
their  hostility,  and  would  approach  a  study  of  Islam 
and  its  Prophet  in  that  spirit,  it  might  be  possible  for 
them  to  find  some  sort  of  understanding  of  the  problems 
of  the  Orient,  which,  by  general  agreement,  holds 
mysteries  the  missionaries  and  others  have  progressed 
but  a  short  way  towards  solving." 

It  has  been  my  hope  and  desire  to  do  a  little  (no  one 
can  be  so  conscious  as  I  am  of  how  little  I  have  the  cap- 
acity to  do,  in  comparison  with  what  I  think  is  necessary), 
towards  presenting  not  only  the  views  of  the  Islamic 
people,  but  pictures  of  them  "  in  their  habit  as  they 
live,"  so  that  their  customs  and  their  laws  may  be  con- 
sidered as  they  fit  into  their  everyday  lives,  and  thus 
take  their  right  adjustment  and  proportion. 

It  is  obvious  that  to  understand  any  people  one  must 
bring  sympathy  to  the  study  of  them,  and  if  they  are  of 
a  different  religion,  an  effort  must  be  made  to  detach 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    391 

the  mind  as  far  as  possible  from  preconceived  ideas, 
and  above  all  things  not  to  judge  by  excrescences 
("  It  is  like  judging  of  the  health  of  a  people  from  its 
hospitals,  or  its  morality  from  its  prisons,"  said  Professor 
Max  Miiller),  and  to  seek  the  good  rather  than  the  bad, 
bringing  to  the  study  a  genial  and  not  a  hostile  spirit. 

It  is  our  duty  to  seek  for  the  ideals  of  the  people  we 
would  help,  and  to  avoid  showing  ourselves,  if  not  the 
enemies  of  advance  in  culture  and  morals,  at  least  not 
an  obstacle  to  them,  although  they  are  not  along  the 
lines  which  we  should  choose.  It  would  almost  appear 
sometimes  that  certain  missionaries  and  other  Christian 
critics  of  Islam  would  prefer  to  see  the  people  "  sit  in 
darkness,"  if  they  will  not  take  the  light  immediately 
from  their  hands. 

It  is  indeed  a  strange  thing  that  it  should  be  the 
missionary  whose  judgment  speaks  of  "  a  fell  system  of 
religion  which  blasts  all  that  is  true  and  noble,"  calling 
it  a  "  curse  hanging  over  the  people  "  ;  and  who  will 
believe  nothing  good  of  the  Prophet  or  of  his  followers. 

And  yet  the  missionary  who  seeks  to  dismiss  the 
Prophet's  well-known  detestation  of  divorce  by  stating 
that  "  Mohammed  is  said  to  disapprove  of  divorce," 
will  not  hesitate  to  draw  upon  anything  that  is  said  of 
the  Prophet  in  the  traditional  sayings  and  anecdotes, 
nothing  being  too  trivial  or  absurd  to  be  credited  if  it 
will  make  a  knot  in  the  whip  to  flay  his  followers  with. 
In  seeking  an  interpretation,  however,  of  Biblical  texts 
which  please  him,  Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  speaks  of  going 
to  "  the  best  MSS  "  (Religion  of -the  Crescent,  p.  215). 

The  bias  shown  becomes  ridiculous  when  Gibbon's 
historical  tribute  to  the  Arab  people  is  put  down  to 
'  poetic  fancy  "  ;  the  only  time,  I  imagine,  that  such  a 


392         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

tender  quality  has  been  associated  with  the  author  of 
the  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  We  are  even 
told,  "  of  the  contribution  of  the  Saracens  to  learning  !  " 
is  the  most  that  this  same  writer  will  allow  to  the  days 
of  Islam's  greatness. 

It  is  the  impartial  scholar  like  Dr.  Butler  who  can 
appreciate  the  debt  which  even  Christianity  owes  to 
early  Islam  for  "  its  chastening  and  ennobling  fires." 
In  those  early  days,  before  the  era  of  misrepresentation 
set  in,  the  Christian  tributes  to  Islam  were  simple  and 
sincere.  It  was  Sebolos,  not  only  a  Christian,  but  a 
Bishop,  who  wrote  :  "  At  that  time  a  certain  man  of 
the  sons  of  Ishmael,  whose  name  was  Mohammed,  a 
merchant,  appeared  to  his  people,  as  it  were  by  the 
order  of  God,  preaching  the  truth.  .  .  .  Inasmuch  as 
the  command  was  from  on  high,  by  his  sole  behest  all 
the  nation  came  together  in  a  union  of  law,  and  forsaking 
vain  idols,  returned  to  the  living  God,  who  had  appeared 
to  their  father  Abraham.  Mohammed  bid  them  .  .  .  not 
to  drink  wine,  or  to  tell  a  lie,  or  to  commit  fornication." 

It  is  significant  that  Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall,  in  his 
savage  onslaught,  asserts  positively  that  Omar  burnt 
the  Alexandrian  library,  to  prove  that  Islam  is  "  essenti- 
ally the  foe  of  all  forms  of  progress  "  (Religion  of  the 
Crescent,  p.  203),  utterly  ignoring  the  overwhelming 
mass  of  evidence  adduced  by  Dr.  Butler  which  shows 
the  injustice  of  the  charge  (The  Arab  Conquest  of  Egypt, 
ch.  xxv.).  One  is  tempted  to  ask  if  this  critic  has  never 
heard  of  this  evidence,  so  amply  confirming  Gibbon's 
doubts  as  to  Omar's  guilt,  which  doubts  Mr.  Tisdall 
has  declared  to  be  "  vain."  Or  has  he  never  heard  of  the 
Christian  burning  of  books,  not  in  Cordova  only,  but  in 
every  Moorish  town  in  Spain  ;  of  the  destruction  by  the 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    393 

Crusaders  of  an  immense  library  at  Tripoli  in  Palestine  ; 
or  of  the  burning  by  the  Christian  French,  when  they 
took  Constantine,  in  North  Africa,  of  invaluable  books 
and  MSS.  Or  of  how  the  English,  when  they  captured 
Magdala,  found  a  large  library  of  Abyssinian  books, 
which  they  carried  away  haphazard,  and,  because  trans- 
port was  troublesome,  abandoned  the  greater  part. 
The  few  they  selected  at  random  to  retain  have  shown 
what  treasures  have  been  lost  to  the  world. 

If  Mr.  St.  Clair-Tisdall  finds  himself  logically  con- 
fronted with  a  Christian  doctrine,  or  a  Biblical  passage, 
which  may  suggest  misgivings  in  his  denunciations  of 
Islam,  he  at  once  declares  that  this  is  "  contrary  to  many 
passages  "  in  the  Scriptures,  and  to  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  there  is  no  verbal  or  patristic  bond  too 
small  to  imprison  his  opponents  from  any  hope  of 
growth  or  development. 

The  very  legends  which  grew  up  round  the  life  of 
the  Prophet,  those  childish  miracles  attributed  to  his 
birth,  and  sayings  and  doings,  and  to  his  death,  and 
which  every  word  of  Mohammed's  own  teaching  went 
to  disprove  in  advance,  these  are  good  enough  to  be 
brought  against  the  religion  of  the  Crescent,  regardless 
of  the  fact  that  similar  fables  were  associated  by  early 
Christians  with  the  Life  of  our  Lord,  and  in  Egypt 
are  still  treasured  as  articles  of  faith  by  the  Coptic 
Christians  to  this  day.  Mohammed  said :  "  I  never 
claimed  that  Allah's  treasures  are  in  my  hands,  that  I 
knew  the  hidden  things,  or  that  I  was  an  angel — I, 
who  cannot  even  help  or  trust  myself,  without  God's 
will.  Will  ye  not  reflect  a  little  ?  " 

And  as  though  this  were  not  enough,  one  of  the 
latest  books  coming  from  men  and  women  who  are 


394        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

engaged  in  the  work  of  trying  to  save  these  people  to 
a  nobler  and  more  generous  faith,  the  very  service 
that  the  Prophet  did  for  humanity,  in  for  ever  putting 
an  end  to  the  cruel  practice  he  found  in  Arabia,  of 
burying  girl  infants  alive,  is  referred  to  in  these  scandal- 
ously unfair  words,  "  Mohammed  improved  on  the 
barbaric  method,  and  discovered  a  way  by  which  all 
females  could  be  buried  alive  and  yet  live  on — namely, 
the  veil  "  (Our  Moslem  Sisters,  edited  by  S.  M.  Zwemer), 
the  ignorance  of  which  statement  should  have  been 
manifest  to  any  student  of  the  Bible,  for  seclusion  of 
women  goes  back  to  Old  Testament  times  (Esther  ii.  3). 
It  is  the  hareem  alone,  guarded  by  the  "  keeper  of  the 
women,"  as  the  Bible  puts  it,  that  matters  ;  the  veil 
may  easily  come  to  mean  little  more  in  the  way  of 
restraint  than  those  worn  by  fashionable  women  in 
Hyde  Park. 

Well  might  Max  Miiller  declare  that  "  No  judge,  if 
he  had  before  him  the  worst  criminal,  would  treat  him 
as  most  historians  and  theologians  have  treated  the 
religions  of  the  world." 

Why  must  it  be  confessed  that,  in  so  very  many 
cases,  we  must  go  to  the  ordinary  traveller,  or  to  the 
secular  resident,  in  Eastern  lands  especially,  and  not 
to  the  missionary,  if  we  want  anything  like  a  kindly 
view  of  the  people  ? 

In  China,  as  an  instance,  the  venerable  Dr.  Griffith 
John  of  Hankow,  whose  recent  death  is  so  much  deplored, 
constantly  penned  the  most  scathing  and  damning 
indictments  of  the  people  for  whose  spiritual  welfare 
he  was  at  work — people  who  "  disgust  and  dispel " 
(The  Supreme  Motive  in  Foreign  Missions,  p.  7).  I 
suppose  Sir  Robert  Hart,  after  fifty-four  years'  work 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM     395 

amongst  the  Chinese,  had  opportunities  as  great  as 
the  missionary  for  knowing  their  character.  In  almost 
the  last  speech  he  made  in  England,  Sir  Robert  spoke  of 
his  respect  for  the  Chinese,  and  enumerated  their  fine 
qualities — and  this  when  his  diplomatic  career  was  over, 
so  that  he  could  speak  without  reserve.  Mrs.  Arcihbald 
Little,  who  has  travelled  so  much  in  China,  never  loses 
an  opportunity  of  telling  of  the  affection  and  respect 
she  has  conceived  for  its  people. 

The  kindly  word  about  the  Egyptians  is  spoken  by 
such  people  as  Lady  Duff  Gordon,  and,  in  the  present 
day,  by  Mr.  Talbot  Kelly,  the  artist,  who  have  lived 
familiarly  for  long  periods  amongst  them. 

Going  farther,  towards  Central  Africa,  it  is  such 
travellers  as  Miss  Mary  Kingsley,  Lady  Lugard,  A 
Resident's  Wife  in  Nigeria  (Mrs.  Constance  Lary- 
more),  Mr.  E.  D.  Morel,  the  unbiased  students  of 
humanity,  who  find  excellent,  and  even  lovable  qualities 
in  the  people,  and  who  are  able  to  see  that,  although 
so  different  from  those  of  the  West,  moral  qualities  and 
pious  inclinations  may  be  commendable  in  them. 

No  one  could  have  been  present  at  the  meetings  of 
the  Universal  Races  Congress  held  in  London  recently, 
and  have  heard  the  growl  of  dissent  which  always  met 
any  reference  to  the  missionary  version  of  the  distant 
races,  or  the  cheers  which  always  responded  to  the 
kindly  word  spoken  by  such  travellers  as  I  have  men- 
tioned ;  or  could  have  seen  the  warm  encouragement 
which  the  Congress  extended  to  the  race  representatives 
themselves,  when  they  appealed  for  our  help  and  our 
recognition  of  the  good  after  which  they  were  striving, 
without  being  convinced  that  the  English  and  American 
position  as  missionary  nations  demands  serious  reflec- 


396        VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

tion,  and  possibly  a  deep-reaching  reformation,  in  both 
its  spirit  and  its  methods,  if  public  opinion  is  not  to 
rise  as  a  flood  against  it.  It  may  well  be  seriously 
pondered  (especially  in  view  of  the  failure,  almost 
universally  confessed,  to  really  conquer  the  regions  to 
which  spiritual  siege  has  been  laid)  if  the  history  of 
missions  in  Islamic  lands  may  not,  when  the  long  tale 
of  hopeful  years  is  told,  have  written  against  them  by 
the  inexorable  hand  of  time,  the  words  with  which 
Herodotus  closed  his  account  of  the  hopeless  venture  of 
Cambyses  into  Ethopia  :  "  Thus  ended  the  expedition." 

Mighty  Christian  Churches  have  fallen  away  from 
this  continent  in  the  past,  leaving  not  a  vestige  of  their 
existence  behind,  and  Christian  colonies,  started  with 
highest  hopes  by  brave  men,  have  vanished  like  clouds, 
before  the  insistency  of  human  type,  and  its  natural 
predilections,  to  which  the  pioneers  of  a  differing 
civilisation  and  faith  could  not  fit  their  message. 

Just  as  I  believe  the  Christian  gospel  to  be  the 
highest  message  to  mankind,  so  I  believe  there  is  a  way 
by  which  it  can  be  commended  to  every  people.  When 
I  contemplate  the  methods  of  many  of  the  modern 
missionaries  at  work  in  Moslem  lands,  I  always  feel 
inclined  to  turn  away  from  their  adverse  writings  on 
Islam,  to  consider  the  example  of  that  greatest  Missionary 
to  mankind — the  gentle  Teacher  who  avoided  contro- 
versy, and  "  went  about  doing  good."  How  often  has 
His  doctrine  been  commended  to  the  minds  of  men  by 
just  following  His  divine  example  ?  It  is  this  that  can 
break  down  opposition,  otherwise  invulnerable ;  the 
benevolent  human  contact  teaches  lessons  before  which 
the  barriers  of  creed  fall  away,  and  men,  in  getting 
nearer  to  God,  see  each  other  as  fellow-creatures  of  His, 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM     397 

standing  apart  from  the  artificial  limitations  they  have 
created  for  themselves,  and  which  have  caused  (them 
to  ignore  the  eternal  verities.  Faith,  Hope,  Charity 
abideth — and  the  greatest  is  charity. 

When  Lady  Duff  Gordon  attended  with  her  own 
hands  to  the  needs  of  her  poor  Moslem  guest  at  Luxor, 
who  died  with  his  hand  in  hers,  she  did  more  to  remove 
the  barriers  which  separate  the  creeds  than  any  sort  of 
controversy  about  them  can  ever  do.  It  was  she,  a 
Christian  woman,  who  turned  the  dying  man's  face 
towards  Mecca,  and  nodded  to  the  Moslems  present 
to  chant  his  last  profession  of  Faith  in  the  One  God  ; 
and  she  closed  his  eyes.  She  followed  the  body  to 
the  burial-place,  with  the  women,  who  "  Wailed  for 
a  brother  who  had  died  far  from  his  place."  No  one 
thought  to  object  to  her  presence  in  the  mosque,  and 
her  "  Prankish  hat  "  in  the  midst  of  the  veiled  and 
wailing  women  caused  no  comment.  And  after  the 
burial  "  the  Imam,  Sheikh  Abd-el-Waris,  came  and 
kissed  me  on  the  shoulders,  and  the  Sherif,  a  man  of 
eighty,  laid  his  hands  on  my  shoulders  and  said,  '  Fear 
not,  my  daughter,  neither  all  the  days  of  thy  life,  nor 
at  the  hour  of  death,  for  God  is  with  thee  !  '  I  kissed 
the  old  man's  hand  and  turned  to  go,  but  numberless 
men  came  and  said,  '  A  thousand  thanks,  O  our  sister, 
for  what  thou  hast  done  for  one  among  us,'  and  a  great 
deal  more."  Here  is  a  true  way  for  missions. 

Intellectually  we  shall,  I  feel  sure,  lose  nothing  by 
exercising  care  to  do  the  Arab  people  historical  justice. 
We  must  be  wanting  in  frankness  if  we  do  not  admit 
that  the  religion  of  Islam  brought  a  great  advance  to 
the  idolatrous  and  warring  people  who  first  received 
it ;  the  debt  we  owe  to  the  Islamic  East  for  maintaining 


398         VEILED  MYSTERIES  OF  EGYPT 

the  light  of  knowledge  while  Christendom  was  in  its 
"  dark  ages  "  is  incontestable. 

Religion  we  may  admit  to  have  its  basis  in  the  truth 
of  things,  and  that  all  great  religions  have  proved 
blessings  to  the  peoples  among  whom  they  have  origin- 
ated, marking  a  stage  in  their  history.  Each  has  a 
calendar  crowded  with  the  names  of  saints  and  martyrs. 
They  are  identified  in  the  affections  of  their  votaries 
with  venerated  names,  an  insult  to  whom  is  as  unpardon- 
able as  an  insult  to  the  Hebrew  prophets  or  apostles,  or 
even  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  faith,  would  be  to 
Christians.  And  these  religions  have  proved  themselves 
enduring  and  so  suited  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  men  on 
a  great  scale  that  they  should  compel  respect.  If  we 
can  add  to  respect,  impartial  justice  and  courtesy,  and 
a  love  of  mankind  enough  to  eliminate  all  traces  of 
contempt  or  of  pharisaical  judgment,  then  we  may  hope 
to  advance — if  genuine  advance,  rather  than  mere 
proselytism,  is  our  aim. 

There  is  no  need  for  discouragement  because  mis- 
sionary proselytism  seems  to  fail.  The  Pharisees  had 
that  kind  of  zeal,  and  what  Jesus  thought  of  them  and 
their  zeal  we  learn  from  His  words,  "  Ye  compass  sea 
and  land  to  make  one  proselyte,  and  when  he  is  become 
so,  ye  make  him  twofold  more  a  son  of  hell  than  your- 
selves." Dr.  Grant  has  truly  said,  "  Proselytism  detaches 
individuals,  who  as  a  rule  are  worth  little,  but  it  arrests 
internal  development.  It  is  Prophetism  that  gains  in- 
dividuals, who  become  centres  of  force,  and  it  thus 
initiates  movements  which  may  be  delayed  or  defeated, 
but  cannot  be  destroyed "  (Note  23).  It  was  God 
Himself  who  "  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for 
to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth  "  (Acts  xvii.  26). 


THE  GREAT  QUESTIONS  OF  ISLAM    399 

The  Christian  message,  and  all  the  moral  splendour 
which  has  come  from  its  advance,  does  not  need,  as  a 
preparation  for  its  conquest,  anything  of  abuse  or  unfair 
depreciation  towards  Mohammed  or  his  religion,  or  in- 
deed towards  any  religion.  These  things  occupy  our  time 
unprofitably  and  impede  our  progress.  Our  work  is  to 
be  Christians,  in  the  simple  way  of  Christ,  and  then  to 
say  to  men  of  other  beliefs — Here  is  Jesus,  what  think 
ye  of  Him  ?  "  The  most  earnest  men  will  gradually 
draw  nearer  and  nearer  to  Christianity,  and  the  end 
will  come  gradually  and  almost  imperceptibly,  the  dark- 
ness fading  into  twilight,  and  the  twilight  vanishing 
in  the  full  glory  of  the  dawn  of  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness." l 

1  Religion  of  the  Crescent,  p.  230.  For  once  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to 
quote  with  consent  the  words  of  the  writer  with  whom  I  have  shown  so 
much  dissent. 


NOTES 

THERE  is  NOTHING  GOOD  IN  ISLAM. — Note  i  (p.  260). 

"  It  is  asserted  that,  according  to  the  philosophers  of  old,  the  first 
thing  to  be  done  in  searching  for  a  knowledge  of  God  was  to  learn  to  know 
oneself.  Such  an  idea  would  have  seemed  impious  to  Mohammed,  if  it 
had  occurred  to  him."  "  However,  it  is  said  that  Ali  asserted, '  Whoever 
knows  himself  knows  his  Lord.'  But  this  is  contrary  to  '  orthodox  ' 
Islam,  and  is  explained  away.  .  .  ." — The  Religion  of  the  Crescent,  St. 
Clair-Tisdall,  p.  57. 

WAS    THE   VISION    OF   THE    PROPHET   A    DREAM  ? Note  2  (p.  262). 

With  regard  to  this  vision,  out  of  which  adverse  critics  have  made 
much  capital,  a  great  Oriental  scholar  has  said:  "Mohammed  is  not 
to  be  made  responsible  for  some  of  his  enthusiastic  admirers  when  they 
transformed  this  vision — a  vision  as  grand  as  any  in  the  whole  Divine 
Comedy,  which  indeed  has  unconsciously  borrowed  some  of  its  richest 
plumage  from  it,  but  which  Mohammed,  until  he  was  sick  of  it,  insisted 
on  calling  a  Dream — into  insipidity  and  drivel." — "  Islam,"  Quarterly 
Review,  October  1869. 

MISSIONARY  ANTAGONISM. — Note  3  (p.  269). 

Religion  of  the  Crescent  (p.  217).  May  I  inquire  how  it  is  that  such 
books  as  this,  and  Islam  :  a  Challenge  to  Faith,  are  written,  not  in  Moslem 
lands,  but  the  one  from  Bedford  and  the  other  from  New  York.  Such  a 
spirit  of  prejudice  and  antagonism  is,  I  believe,  absent  almost  always  from 
the  writings  of  missionaries  whose  life-work  is  actually  all  accomplished 
amongst  the  people.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  the  missionary  who,  for 
reasons  a  layman  cannot  understand,  leaves  the  social  work  of  the  mis- 
sionary to  labour  at  his  desk,  and  to  constantly  appear  on  the  Western 
platform,  who  usually  writes  without  sympathy  and  understanding  of  the 
Moslem  world. 

THE  KORAN  AS  A  CONFIRMATION  OF  PREVIOUS  SCRIPTURES. — 
Note  4  (p.  270). 

The  Reproach  of  Islam  (p.  312).  The  Moslems  do  not  claim  that  the 
Koran  came  to  replace  the  Bible,  but  to  supplement  it.  The  exact  words 
of  the  Koran  itself  are,  it  "  connrmeth  what  was  revealed  before  it,  and  is 
an  explanation  of  the  Scriptures." — Sura  x.  38.  (Repeated  again  and 
again. — Sura  xxxv.  28  ;  Sura  xii.  3.)  To  every  nation  a  Book  has  been 
sent,  was  in  effect  the  theory  of  the  Prophet,  and  this  my  nation  has  not 
been  left  without  a  witness.  He  had  deep  respect  for  the  Book  of  the 
Jews  and  Christians,  and  even  told  his  followers  to  seek  instruction 
therein  if  they  were  in  doubt  about  matters  of  their  own  faith. 

400 


NOTES  401 


FICTION  ON  EGYPT. — Note  5  (p.  276). 

Mr.  Marmaduke  Pickthall  has  written  a  great  deal  of  fiction  about 
the  people  of  Egypt  (Children  of  the  Nile,  Said  the  Fisherman]  which  has 
had  a  wide  acceptance  in  the  West ;  and  Mr.  Cutcliffe  Hyne  has  also 
written  a  number  of  vivid  sketches  of  Arab  character.  And  Sir  Gilbert 
Parker  has  written  fiction  about  Egypt  which  betrays  in  every  page  a 
want  of  knowledge  of  all  things  Islamic — he  even  builds  on  the  commonest 
of  errors,  that  the  Prophet's  tomb  is  at  Mecca.  There  is  a  cruel  and 
relentless  note  in  these  authors  which  I  have  never  found  in  any  work 
by  a  responsible  writer  not  concerned  to  produce  thrilling  fiction,  but  to 
describe  the  life  of  the  people  as  he  has  actually  experienced  it :  to  record 
facts  rather  than  to  draw  pictures.  At  random  I  instance  Village  Life, 
giving  a  simple  account  of  the  fellaheen,  sixty  years  ago,  and  Adventures 
in  the  Libyan  Desert,  by  Bayle  St.  John,  Miss  Kingsley's  works,  Lady 
Lugard's,  Lady  Duff  Gordon's  simple  letters  from  Luxor  to  her  family, 
and  recently  Mr.  Talbot  Kelly's  notes  to  his  beautiful  pictures,  chiefly 
of  country  life  in  Egypt,  and  Mr.  E.  D.  Morel's  work  on  Nigeria.  Mr. 
Morel  only  a  year  or  two  since  did  great  service  to  humanity  in  leading  to 
the  suppression  of  the  Congo  atrocities,  for  which  he  was  enthusiastically 
commended  by  the  Christian  public.  A  kindly  word  for  the  Moslem, 
however,  in  his  later  work,  and  the  editor  of  East  and  West,  the  S.P.G. 
journal,  dismisses  him  as  a  man  who  has  "  considerably  shaken  "  his  con- 
fidence in  the  accuracy  of  his  information  ! 

AN  AGENT'S  REPORT  ON  EGYPT. — Note  6  (p.  294). 

The  Arab  Conquest  of  Egypt  (p.  434).  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  one 
passage  in  a  report  of  Amr  of  his  work  as  Governor  of  Egypt  reads 
strangely,  as  coming  from  a  representative  of  "  that  scourge  of  God  " — 
as  it  became  the  Christian  fashion  to  call  the  Moslems:  "The  land-tax 
is  not  demanded  before  its  due  season  ;  a  third  of  the  revenue  is  spent  on 
bridges  and  sluice-gates.  If  the  governors  continue  to  act  thus,  the 
revenue  will  be  doubled,  and  God  will  reconcile  the  different  religions  and 
the  variety  of  worldly  interests."  Written  by  Amr  in  Egypt,  to  the 
Caliph  Omar,  in  Arabia.  These  words  might  almost  have  come  from  the 
pen  of  a  modern  British  agent. 

AN  ERROR  OF  THE  BISHOP  OF  LONDON. — Note  7  (p.  295). 

That  the  old  historical  fallacies  are  slow  to  die,  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  present  Bishop  of  London  could  declare — before  he  had  visited 
Moslem  lands — that  Islam  turns  out  the  name  of  Christ  as  evil.  The 
Crusaders  were  urged  on  their  quest  by  being  told  that  the  Moslems 
"  defiled  the  Holy  Sepulchre."  The  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  is  as  sacred 
to  all  Moslems  as  is  the  name  of  Mohammed,  and  is  used  with  exactly  the 
same  terms  of  reverence.  Their  veneration  for  the  tombs  of  saints  is 
profound  ;  how  then  do  they  regard  the  tomb  of  this  great  prophet 
Christ  ?  It  is  to  Jerusalem,  Islam  believes,  that  He  will  come  again  a 
second  time.  It  is  in  Jerusalem  that  one  of  the  three  most  sacred  of  all 
the  Moslem  mosques  is  found,  to  which  many  pilgrims  journey  after 
visiting  the  Prophet's  tomb  in  Medina. 

THE  CRUSADERS  WADING  IN  MOSLEM  BLOOD. — Note  8  (p.  295). 

When  Jerusalem  was  retaken  by  the  Crusaders — in  July  1099,  there 
followed  most  revolting  scenes  of  fanatical  cruelty,  resulting  in  the  indis- 

26 


402  NOTES 


criminate  slaughter  of  countless  thousands  of  Moslem  men  and  women. 
So  great  indeed  was  the  massacre,  that  in  a  public  letter  to  the  Pope  the 
leader  of  the  Christian  forces  boasted  that  in  the  Mosque  of  Omar  they 
rode  up  to  the  horses'  knees  in  the  blood  of  the  Saracens.  The  Crusaders 
led  out  of  the  town  Moslem  hostages  to  the  number  of  five  thousand,  and 
slaughtered  them  in  cold  blood.  It  is  indeed  true  that  the  history  of  the 
Crusades  was  written  in  letters  of  blood.  Saladin  took  reprisals  at 
Tiberias,  and  in  the  murder  of  the  members  of  the  Order  of  Jerusalem, 
two  hundred  and  thirty  in  number. 

MOSLEMS  CHARGED  WITH  TOLERATION  AS  AN  OFFENCE. — Note  9  (p.  297). 

Renan,  Averroes  et  averroism.  As  Arnold  has  pointed  out,  "this very 
spirit  of  toleration  was  made  one  of  the  main  articles  in  an  account  of  the 
Apostasies  and  Treasons  of  the  Moriscoes,  drawn  up  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Valencia  in  1602,  when  recommending  their  expulsion  to 
Philip  in.,  as  follows  ;  "  That  they  commended  nothing  so  much  as  that 
liberty  of  conscience,  in  all  matters  of  religion,  which  the  Turks  and  all 
other  Mohammedans  suffer  their  subjects  to  enjoy." — The  Preaching  of 
Islam,  pp.  123-24. 

CHRISTIAN  FANATICISM. — Note  10  (p.  298). 

More  enlightened  days  have,  unfortunately,  not  been  without  the 
most  appalling  instances  of  Christian  fanaticism.  During  forty  or  fifty 
years  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Catholic  Poles  inflicted  the  most 
fearful  atrocities  on  the  Russians  of  the  Orthodox  Eastern  Church.  They 
killed  70,000  to  80,000  souls.  Well  might  Macarius,  Patriarch  of 
Antioch,  exclaim,  "  God  perpetuate  the  empire  of  the  Turks  for  ever  and 
ever !  For  they  take  their  impost,  and  enter  into  no  account  of  religion, 
be  their  subjects  Christian  or  Nazarene,  Jew  or  Samaritan."  During  the 
Reformation  period  the  Protestants  of  Hungary  and  other  places  pre- 
ferred the  rule  of  the  Turks  to  that  of  the  Catholics,  and  cases  occurred 
of  Protestants  who  fled  into  Turkish  territory  to  find  under  Islamic  laws 
the  freedom  of  religious  worship  and  opinions,  which  were  denied  them 
in  Christian  Europe.  In  judging  of  the  persecutions  and  atrocities  in 
Turkey  during  the  last  century,  such  facts  as  these  should  be  kept  in  mind  ; 
and  the  religion  of  Islam  should  not  be  made  responsible  for  the  crimes 
of  its  followers  who  have  fallen  away  from  its  teaching.  One  of  the 
latest  Christian  persecutions  was  that  of  King  John  of  Abyssinia,  who 
in  1878  ordained  that  men  should  all  be  of  one  religion  throughout  the 
whole  of  his  kingdom  ;  even  Christians  were  forbidden  to  belong  to  any 
other  sect  than  the  Jacobite.  By  1880  he  is  said  to  have  compelled 
50,000  Moslems,  amongst  others,  to  be  baptised. 

A  GENUINE  DISLIKE  OF  USURY. — Note  n  (p.  299). 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  when,  in  March  1901,  the  Post  Office 
Savings  Bank  was  established  in  Egypt,  the  Moslems  very  generally 
indicated  that  they  regretted  they  could  not  put  their  money  into  it 
because  they  were  offered  interest.  After  a  time,  however,  the  con- 
venience of  such  a  safe  place  of  deposit  so  appealed  to  them,  that  many  of 
them  placed  their  money  in  the  Post  Office,  but  steadfastly  refused  the 
interest,  no  less  than  3195  persons  doing  this  in  two  years.  The 
authorities  now  consulted  the  Grand  Mufti,  and  other  officials  of  Islam, 
and  as  these  men  recognised  that  such  interest  was  earned  by  the  money 
and  had  no  connection  with  "  usury,"  the  extortionate  use  of  money  which 


NOTES  403 

the  Prophet  intended  to  forbid,  a  law  was  framed  making  it  possible  for 
Moslems  to  use  the  Bank  without  breaking  a  religious  law.  In  the 
very  next  year  nearly  30,000  Moslem  depositors  were  using  the  Bank, 
including  ninety-four  of  the  ulema  and  sheikh  class.  I  do  not  think  that 
Mr.  Gairdner  should  suggest  that  such  men  are  not  much  troubled  by 
questions  of  "  trade  and  morality." — Reproach  of  Islam,  p.  200. 

FIRST  AND  SECOND-CLASS  FUNERAL  PALLS. — Note  12  (p.  333). 

Religion  of  the  Crescent  (p.  206).  I  cannot  refrain  from  noting,  that  as 
I  was  writing  these  words  I  looked  from  my  window  in  Siena  and  saw 
passing  a  misericordia  funeral ;  the  deceased  was  evidently  poor  and 
obscure,  for  the  pall  allowed  by  this  charitable  Christian  brotherhood  was 
that  of  the  second  class ;  the  one  for  the  rich  and  distinguished — of  the  first 
class — is  embroidered  in  gold.  The  two  covers  may  be  seen  thus  labelled 
in  a  room  of  St.  Catherine's  House. 

THE  DEPRAVITY  OF  ARABIA  AS  THE  PROPHET  FOUND  IT. — 
Note  13  (p.  344). 

This  terrible  picture  seems  to  accord  with  Professor  Palmer's  state- 
ment of  the  degradation  of  the  religion  of  the  time.  "  At  the  time  of 
Mohammed's  appearance  the  national  religion  of  the  Arabs  had  so  far 
degenerated  as  to  have  scarcely  any  believers.  The  primeval  Sabaeanism 
was  all  but  lost,  and  even  the  worship  of  the  powers  of  nature  had  become 
little  more  than  a  gross  fetishism  ;  as  one  of  Mohammed's  contemporaries 
said,  when  they  found  a  fine  stone  they  adored  it,  or  failing  that,  milked 
a  camel  over  a  heap  of  sand  and  worshipped  that." — Sacred  Books  of  the 
East,  edited  by  Max  Muller,  vol.  vi.  p.  15. 

MR.  ZWEMER'S  QUOTATION. — Note  14  (p.  345). 

Islam  :  a  Challenge  to  Faith  (pp.  6-7).  It  is  difficult  to  know  what  to 
say  of  a  writer's  views  who  will  quote  such  stuff  from  the  seventeenth 
century  as,  "  Now  consider  this  Moamed,  or  Machumed,  whom  Godfgave 
up  to  a  blind  mind  .  .  .  falling  sickness  and  being  tormented  by  the 
Devil,"  etc.  etc.,  with  the  comment  "  not  altogether  bad  for  a  seventeenth- 
century  synopsis  "  (p.  40). 

MOHAMMED  AND  DIVORCE. — Note  15  (p.  351). 

The  Religion  of  the  Crescent  (p.  195).  Over  and  over  again  Mr.  St. 
Clair-Tisdall  dismisses  the  traditional  sayings  which  are  creditable  to 
Mohammed  ;  "  he  is  said  to  have  disapproved  of  divorce,"  and  over  and 
over  again  he  accepts  without  question  any  tradition  on  this  subject  which 
brings  a  discredit.  What  the  Prophet  is  said  to  have  said  or  done  then 
becomes  evidence. 

MOSLEM  WOMEN  AND  THE  PRAYERS. — Note  16  (p.  358). 

"  Women  are  bound  to  perform  the  prescribed  prayers  as  well  as  the 
men,"  says  the  Rev.  F.  A.  Klein  in  The  Religion  of  Islam.  This  author's 
object  is  not  to  state  his  version  of  the  religion,  but  to  go  to  the  Moslem 
authorities.  He  finds  that  women's  prayer  was  so  much  taken  for  granted 
that  it  is  an  instruction  for  the  worshippers  in  the  mosque :  "  When  prayer 
is  ended  the  men  remain  standing  in  their  places  for  a  short  time  to 
allow  the  women  who  may  have  been  sitting  behind  to  retire  first  " 
'p. 


404  NOTES 

MOSLEM  WOMEN  NOT  RESTRAINED  OF  NECESSITY. — Note  17  (p.  370). 

It  is  interesting  as  showing  that  the  restraints  put  upon  women  are 
not  due  altogether  to  Islam,  to  find  Palgrave  constantly  stating  that  in 
primitive  Arabia  the  women  have  considerable  freedom.  I  myself  saw 
something  in  North  Africa  of  a  great  Moslem  brotherhood,  which  has  its 
centre  at  Bou  Saada,  and  only  a  few  years  ago  was  governed  very  ably  by 
a  woman,  who  inherited  her  position  from  the  Marabout  (sheikh)  as  his 
only  child. 

Do  THE  FRENCH  UNDERSTAND  THE  MOSLEMS  BETTER  THAN  THE  ENGLISH  ? 

—Note  1 8  (p.  372). 

It  is  generally  thought  that  the  French  people  (in  Egypt,  at  any  rate) , 
have — and  do — always  come  nearer  to  a  sympathetic  understanding  of 
the  Moslem  people  here  than  those  of  any  other  nation.  It  was,  I  think, 
only  a  Christian  Frenchman  who  could  have  written  these  words  of  the 
Moslems  :  "  We  wait  also  the  return  of  the  Messiah,  though  we  do  not 
know  when  or  how  He  will  appear.  Nevertheless,  the  Spirit  of  Jesus, 
who  is  light  and  love,  can  spread  itself  abroad  in  the  hearts  of  men  with  a 
power  and  a  new  purity  to  accomplish  between  brothers,  too  long  enemies, 
a  reconciliation  which  is  altogether  beyond  their  own  efforts.  Be  then 
Christians  of  Islam  and  Moslems  of  the  Gospel." — Hyacinthe  Loyson,  in 

1895- 

VICTOR  HUGO'S  ABUSE. — Note  19  (p.  381). 

A  writer  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  October  1869.  Victor  Hugo,  how- 
ever, speaks  of  Mohammed  as  "  the  brother  of  vultures." 

No  MOSLEM  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  KORAN. — Note  20  (p.  382). 

The  Koran  itself  is  always  at  a  disadvantage  with  Western  students, 
as  it  has  never  been  translated  by  a  Moslem.  In  the  discussion  of  vital 
passages  with  learned  ulemas  I  have  often  found  how  wide  of  the  meaning 
put  upon  it  by  Moslems  is  the  most  careful  English  translation.  At 
present  it  is  almost  useless  to  hope  that  any  great  Arabic  scholar,  who  is 
both  an  Arab  and  a  Moslem,  will  undertake  the  work  of  translating  the 
Koran  into  English.  For  one  thing,  every  pious  Moslem  is  afraid  to  risk 
the  loss  of  the  true  meaning  by  translation  ;  and  they  do  not  believe  that 
the  West  cares  to  know  the  truth  about  their  religion  and  their  "  book." 

OLD  BOOKS  OF  TRAVEL  OR  NEW  ? — Note  21  (p.  383). 

"It  is  curious  that  all  old  books  of  travel  I  have  read  mention  the 
natives  of  strange  countries  in  a  far  more  natural  tone,  and  with  far  more 
attempt  to  discriminate  character,  than  modern  ones.  Have  we  grown  so 
very  civilised  since  a  hundred  years,  that  outlandish  people  seem  like  mere 
puppets,  and  not  like  real  human  beings  ?  " — Letters  from  Egypt,  Lady 
Duff  Gordon. 

MOHAMMED  OPPOSED  TO  SUPERSTITIOUS  RITES. — Note  22  (p.  388). 

Among  the  last  words  Mohammed  spoke  was  a  strong  protest  to 
those  members  of  his  despairing  family  who  had  resorted  to  superstitious 
rites  and  formulas  to  find  a  cure  for  his  disease. 

A  SPECIAL  ACKNOWLEDGMENT. — Note  23  (p.  390). 

Religions  of  the  World,  G.  M.  Grant,  D.D.  I  am  indebted  to  this 
little  work,  unique  in  its  spirit,  as  it  is  forcible  and  clear  in  its  style,  for 
several  thoughts  in  this  chapter. 


CHIEF  BOOKS   REFERRED  TO 
AND   QUOTED 


AMEER  ALI,  SYED,  M.A.,  The  Spirit  of  Islam. 

ARNOLD,  T.  W.,  B.A.,  The  Preaching  of  Islam  :   A  History  of  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Moslem  Faith. 
BADR,  MOHAMMED,  F.R.S.,  The  Truth  about  Islam. 
BOER,  Dr.  T,  J.,  The  History  of  Philosophy  in  Islam. 
BUTLER,  ALFRED  J.,  D.Litt.,  The  Arab  Conquest  of  Egypt. 
BLYDEN,  ED.  W.,  LL.D.,  Christianity,  Islam,  and  the  Negro  Race. 

CROMER,  the  Earl  of,  Modern  Egypt. 

FIELD,  CLAUD,  Mystics  and  Saints  of  Islam. 

FORSTER,  the  Rev.  CHARLES,  B.D.,  Mohammedanism  Unveiled. 

GAIRDNER,  the  Rev.  W.  H.  T.,  The  Reproach  of  Islam. 
GORDON,  Lady  DUFF,  Letters  from  Egypt. 

JOHNSTONE,  DE  LACY,  M.A.,  Mohammed  and  his  Power. 
KLEIN,  the  Rev.  F.  A.,  The  Religion  of  Islam. 

LANE,  EDWARD  WILLIAM,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians ; 

Translation  of  The  Arabian  Nights  Entertainments. 
LANE-POOLE,  STANLEY,  Cairo  :  Sketches  of  its  History,  Monuments,  and 

Social  Life  ;   Studies  in  a  Mosque  ;   Speeches  and  Table  Talk  of  the 

Prophet  Mohammed. 

MARGOLIOUTH,   Professor  D.   S.,   Mohammed   and    the  Rise    of  Islam; 

Mohammedanism. 

PALGRAVE,  WILLIAM  GIFFORD,  A    Year's  Journey  through  Central  and 

Eastern  Arabia. 
PALMER,  Professor  E.  H.,  Translation  of  The  Koran. 

ROBINSON,  the  Rev.  CHARLES  H.,  M.A.,  Mohammedanism,  has  it  any 

Future  ? 

RODWELL,  the  Rev.  J.  M.,  M.A.,  Translation  of  The  Koran. 

405 


406    BOOKS  REFERRED  TO  AND  QUOTED 

SALB,  GEORGE,  Translation  of  the  Koran  (with  Notes  and  Introduction  of 

great  value). 

SMITH,  R.  BOSWORTH,  M.A.,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism. 
STANLEY,  Dean,  Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Eastern  Church. 
ST.  JOHN,  BAYLE,  Village  Life  in  Egypt. 
ST.  CLAIR-TISDALL,  M.A.,  D.D.,  The  Religion  of  the  Crescent, 

WATSON,  CHARLES  R.,  Egypt  and  the  Christian  Crusade. 
WHINFIELD,  E.  H.,  M.A.,  Masnavi  I  Ma'Navi. 

ZWEMER,  SAMUEL  M.,  F.R.G.S.,   Islam  :    A   Challenge  to  Faith ;    Our 
Moslim  Sisters  (edited  by  S.  M.  Zwemer  and  Miss  A.  Van  Sommer). 

The  author  has  had  the  advantage  of  many  original  translations  from 
Arabic  and  other  Eastern  writers,  including  the  works  of  most  of  the 
living  authorities  on  the  subjects  dealt  with. 


INDEX 


Abbassieh,  the  Mahmal  at,  207. 

the  Prophet's  birthday  celebration  at,  241. 
Abdu,  Mohammed,  reforms  of,  248. 
Ablutions,  the  spiritual  significance  of,  130,  280. 
the,  Mr.  S.  M.  Zwemer's  contemptuous  re- 
ferences to,  278. 

Abraham,  Islam  the  religion  of,  265. 
Al  Azar  University,  the  riot  caused  by  photo- 

m  graphy,  93. 

an  informal  sermon  there,  145. 
the  aims  of  the  students,  189. 
the  frankness  and   courtesy  of  the  Ulema, 

146. 
Alexandria,  preaching  rooms  established  at, 

122. 

AH,  Ameer  Syed,  on  the  attributes  of  God,  262. 

Allah,  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament,  268. 

Almshouses,  the  Menshawi,  89. 

Amin,  Kasim  Bey,  on  the  veil,  346. 

Amr,  origin  of  the  mosque  of,  278. 

Amr's  report  on  Egypt  to  Omar,  401. 

Angels,  the  guardian,  126. 

Animals,  treatment  of,  81. 

Antagonism,  missionary,  400. 

Apostasy  punishable  by  death,  290. 

Arab,  the,  and  ecstatic  phenomena,  171. 

rule  welcomed  by  Christians,  293. 
Arabia,  why  it  was  closed  to  non-Moslems, 

292. 

depravity  of  pre-Islamic,  404. 
Arnold,  Mr.  T.  W.,  on  the  perfect  married  life 

of  Mohammed  and  Khidijah,  352. 
Asboora,  the  procession  on  the  day  of,  227. 
Ass,  the,  an  admirable  beast  in  Egypt,  97. 
Azabam,  evening  prayer  at,  123. 
Azenfeld,  Herr  K.,  on   the  early  use  of  the 

sword,  304. 

Backsheesh  an  insult  to  the  country  people, 

50,  71. 

Badawi,  the  Saint  of  Tanta,  story  of,  91. 
Bamyia,  a  neckless  of  the  vegetable,  59. 
Banquet,  a  native,  161. 
Bankruptcy  of  Islam,  65. 
Bedouin  village,  visit  to,  47. 
Bekr,    Abu,  descendant  of,   in  the  birthday 

procession,  247. 

Bekri,  the  Sheikh  Abdul  Hamid,  73. 
Bible,  Moslems  and  the,  321. 
Bigots,  barbarians  are,  everywhere,  290. 
Birds,  the  story  of  the  young,  261. 

love  of,  160. 

Birthday  of  the  Prophet  in  Cairo,  241. 
Black  Stone,  why  it  is  revered,  219. 
Blomfield,  Lady  Massie,  on  the  position  of 

women 


Blunt,  Mr.  Wilfred,  6. 

Books,  Christian  burning  of,  393. 


Boys,  Egyptian,  at  play,  23. 

small,  education  of  the  village,  62. 
Brigandage,   threats  of,   to  the   Holy  Carpet 

Caravan,  209. 

Britain,  importance  of  Islam  to,  374. 
Butler,   Dr.,   on   the  debt   early  Christianity 

owes  to  Islam,  392. 

Cadi  and  Englishman,  a  story  of,  334. 

Cadis  school  in  Cairo,  the,  329. 

Cafe",  talk  in  the  village,  53. 

Caine,  Mr.  Hall,  The  White  Prophet,  384. 

Caliph    responsible  for    the  Friday  prayers, 

183. 
Call  to  prayer,  the  early  morning,  119. 

the  mid-day,  in  Cairo,  144. 
Camels,  the  sacred,  of  the  Mahmal,  202. 
Carlyle,  why  he  found  the  Koran  wearisome, 

378. 
Character,  nobility  of,  from  what  is  it  drawn, 

65. 

Charitableness,  Moslem,  20. 
Charity,  is  there  any  organised,  85. 

the  bequests  of  the  Pasha  Menshawi,  107. 
Chastity,  obligation  equal  as  between  man  and 

woman,  351. 
Children,  rich  and  poor,  brought  up  in  pairs, 

82. 

China  and  Islam,  373. 
Chinese  views  upon  Islam,  394. 
Christian  Church,  the,  state  of,  in  Egypt  at  the 

Arab  Conquest,  293. 
Churches,  the  fall  of,  in  Africa,  396. 
fatalism,  a  Moslem  on,  314. 
message     does    not    need    abuse    of   other 

religions,  399. 

Christianity  reviled  by  the  Jews,  311. 
Christians,  why  they  are  excluded  from   the 

mosques,  139. 
are  they  cursed  in  the  mosques  on  Fridays, 

140. 

tolerance  of,  288. 
Citadel,  the  festival  of  the   Holy  Carpet  at, 

204. 
Class  distinction  a  hindrance  to   missionary 

work,  334. 
Cleanliness,  a  comparison  between  East  and 

West,  63. 
Moslem,  27^. 

Climate,  has  it  changed,  70. 
Coarseness  of  the  talk  of  the  fellaheen,  7,  53. 
Condolence,  a  visit  of,  to  Sayyed  Sadat,  77. 
Conversation  in  the  village  home,  26. 

in  the  village  caff,  53. 
Conversion,  do  the  Moslems  attempt,  317. 
Copt,  the,  as  owner  of  the  "  chicken  houses  " 

51. 
Coptic  monks  and  dirt,  279. 


407 


408 


INDEX 


Coptic  Christians,  the  Prophet's  consideration 

for,  292. 
Corelli's,    Miss    Maria,    false    colouring    on 

Egypt,  384.  . 

Corruption,  early,  in  Cairo,  37. 
Corvee,  memories  of  the,  36. 
Courbash,  memories  of  the,  36. 
Courtesy,  Arab,  9. 
Cromer,  Lord,  native  appreciation  of,  34,  36. 

a  misquotation  by,  158. 

errors  in  writing  of  Islam,  379. 

on  the  question  of  the  veil  and  the  harem, 

on   education  of  women  and  agnosticism, 

367- 

Cross,  do  the  Moslems  hate  the,  323. 
Crusaders,  the,  wading  in  Moslem  blood,  402. 
Cursing  Christians,   the   Sheikh  of  Tanta  on 

the  charge  of,  95. 
Cyrus,  the  Archbishop,  and  the  black  general, 

332. 

Demerdache  Mosque,  a  visit  to,  163. 
Dervish  performances    and  medical   science, 

172. 
Dervishes,     whirling,    what     their    gyrations 

symbolise,  173. 

Divorce,  the  evils  of,  in  Egypt,  356. 
the  Prophet's  laws  for,  taken  from   Moses, 

362. 

disapproved  of  by  Mohammed,  404. 
Dog,  how  Moslems  regard  the,  80. 
Doseh,  the  observance  of,  in  old  days,  76. 
Dream  of  the  head  of  Hosein,  154. 
Dress,  the  simplest,  worn  in  the  evening,  22. 
Drink,  intoxicating,  how  it  is  introduced  into 
the  villages,  55. 

Eating  with  the  fingers,  15. 

Egypt,  the  living  people  of,  never  studied,  383. 

Equality  of  Moslems,  13. 

as  shown  in  the  mosques,  116. 

as  shown  on  the  pilgrimage,  223. 

and  brotherhood  in  Islam,  332. 
Etiquette,  Eastern,  to  guests,  10. 
Evil  eye,  the,  39. 

Fanaticism  at  Al  Azar,  146. 

Christian,  298,  403. 

Moslem,  287. 

the  easy  way  in   which  the   word  is  used, 

.302. 
Fatalism,  307. 

leading  present-day  sheikhs  on,  312. 
Father,  the  name  of,  absent  from  the  Moslem 

names  of  God,  260. 
Fatherhood  of   God  in    the    Moslem  belief, 

265. 

Fathers  and  sons,  relationship  between,  67. 
Feast,  a  great,  at  Tanta,  87. 
Fellah  not  a  barbarian,  63. 
Fellaheen,  coarseness  of  speech  of,  7. 

great  age  reached  by,  18. 

the  house  of,  19. 
Fiction  on  Egypt,  402. 
. .   Food,  what  the  poor  eat,  59. 

Forgiveness,  the  constant  prayer  for,  285. 
Formalism  in  prayer,  130,  134,  276. 
Freedom,      religious,      introduced      by     the 

Moslems,  294. 

French  understanding  of  the  Moslems,  401. 
Friendship,  a  traditional  story  about,  84. 
Furn,  or  oven,  importance  of,  19. 


Gairdner,  Rev.  W.  H.  T.,  on  Moslem  prayei, 

128. 

on  the  Black  Stone,  220. 
on  God  as  an  autocrat,  262. 
on  vulgarity  of  the  Moslem,  276. 
quoted  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  319. 
on  lack  of  trade  morality,  404. 
Garden  of  Allah,  the,  102. 
Garden,   the    wonderful,   of   the    late   Pasha 

Menshawi,  98. 
Genii,  belief  in,  25. 

a  mistaken  idea  of,  311. 
Gentleman,    qualities    that    make    a,   in    the 

East,  66. 

German  Crown   Prince,   how    he  was  hood- 
winked, 149. 

German  expansion,  Dr.  Carl  Peters  on,  301. 
Germany,  and  Pan-Islamism,  373. 

and  the  "  Yellow  Peril,"  373. 
Ghazzali,  the  early  theologian,  41. 
on  the  ablutions,  280. 
one  of  his  discourses  on  the  love  of  God, 

267. 

Gibbon  charged  with  "poetic  fancy,"  391. 
God,  the  love  of,  as  Mohammed  interpreted 

it,  261. 

the  Moslem  conception  of,  259. 
Gordon,  General,  and  the  religion  of  Islam, 

324- 

Government,  local,  of  Eg5'pt,  16. 
Grant,  Dr.,  on  Religions  of  the  World,  401. 
Gratitude,  is  it  absent  from  the  East,  83. 
Greetings,  Eastern,  n. 
Guilds,  the,  of  Islam,  250. 
Gullah  (water-jar),  when  it  is  broken  after  a 

guest,  69. 

Halima,  the  freed  slave,  21. 

Hanbury,  Sir  Thomas,  the  garden  of,  at  La 

Mortola,  102. 
Hareem,  a  visit  to  the  village,  57. 

the  palace,  74. 

Lord  Cromer  on,  347. 

a  perfect  home  life  sometimes  found  in  the, 

had  its  origin  in  the  days  of  luxury,  366. 

"  the  secrets  of  the,"  383. 

Harriet   Martineau  thought    it    a  brothel, 

Hart's,  Sir  Robert,  kindly  views  of  the  Chinese, 

395- 
Heart,   attempts  to  gain  a    religion   of  the, 

171. 
Kitchens,   Mr.    Robert,   and   the   Garden   of 

Allah,  102. 
on  Arab  pride,  275. 
Holy  Carpet,  an  account  of,  190. 

seeing  the  sewing  of,  in  the  mosque,  137. 
Horse,  the  Arab  love  of  the,  97. 
Hosein,  mosque  of,  visits  to,  135. 
the  head  of,  152. 
celebration  of  death  of,  227. 
Hospital,  the  Menshawi,  89. 
Hospitality,  Arab,  3,  4,  14. 

etiquette  of,  85. 
Hostility    to     Christians     not     required    in 

Mohammed's  teaching,  143. 
Hottinger,  a  Jewish  convert  to  Christianity, 

331- 

Hugo's,  Victor,  abuse,  401. 
Husband,    the,     acknowledged      as    master, 

6s. 
Hygiene,  religion  and,  280. 


INDEX 


409 


Ibrahim,  the  cover  for  the  tomb  of,  in  Mecca, 

201. 

Ignorance,  the  duty  of  confessing,  145. 
Infants,   unbaptized,   Sheikh  YussePs  misery 
about,  263. 

buried  alive,  394. 
Infidels,  Christians  not  regarded  as,  143. 

"dogs  of,"  380. 

Insularity  of  the  British  people,  376. 
Itinerant  preachers,  one  of  the,  254. 

Jerusalem,  Moslem  clemency  at  the  taking  of, 

295- 

sacred  to  Moslems,  402. 
Jesus,  veneration  of  Moslems  for,  141. 

what  do  the  Moslems  think  of,  319. 

the  one  sinless  Prophet,  321. 

the  great  Missionary,  396. 
Jews,  Moslem  friendship  for,  162. 

the,  reviled  by  enemies,  311. 
Jihad,  303. 
Johns,  Dr.  Griffith,  disgust  with  the  Chinese, 

394- 
Jokes,  enjoyment  of  verbal,  40. 

Kekhia,  evening  prayer  at,  113. 

Kelly,  Mr.  Talbot,  on  the  Egyptians,  395 

Kempis,     Thomas     a,    Imitation    read    by 

Moslems,  330. 
Keneh,  the  Cadi  of,  and  Lady  Duff  Gordon, 

288. 

Khadijah,  happy   married  life  with  Moham- 
med, 351. 
Khedive  as  builder  of  the  Mosque  of  Azabam, 

123. 

the,  as  supreme  director  of  the  Wakfs,  176. 
supreme  over  the   Friday  prayers,  through 

the  Caliph,  183 

the,  his  reception  of  the  Holy  Carpet,  215. 
the  Court  of,  at  the  Prophet's  Moolid,  253. 
Kismet,  an  instance  disproving,  132 
Kitchener,    Lord,   his  repression   of  students 

and  the  press,  379. 
Koran,  ceremonial  reading  of,  124. 
Arabic  of,  the  language  of  heaven,  124. 
the  one  miracle  of  the  Prophet's  life,  239. 
an  abominable  Latin  translation  of,  310. 
why  Carlyle  found  it  wearisome,  378. 
the  first  English  translation  of,  380. 
the,  a  confirmation  of  previous  scriptures, 

400. 

no  Moslem  translation  of,  401. 
Kunafa,  a  special  Eastern  dish,  167. 
Kumm,  Dr.  Karl,  on  the  Black  Stone,  220. 

Lahore,  the  Bishop  of,  and  ignorance  of  the 

clergy  on  Islam,  380. 
Lane,  on  egg-hatching  in  Egypt,  53. 

ignorant  of  cause  of  reverence  for  Mahmal, 

203. 

on  Arab  pride,  287 

Lane-Poole,  Stanley,  on  Islam  as  a  preserva- 
tive against  slavery,  46. 
on  good  manners  of  Egyptians,  67. 
on  fanaticism  at  Al  Azar,  146. 
on  fanatics  and  concealed  infidels,  158. 
Language,  use  of  pictorial,  40 
Library,  the  burning  of  the  Alexandrian,  392. 
Little's,  Mrs.  Archibald,  views^of  the  Chinese, 

395. 
London,  the  Bishop  of,  on  the  Moslems  and 

Christ,  319. 
error  of,  402. 


Luther,  Martin,  on  the  Prophet,  381. 
Luxor,  Sheikh  Zussef  of,  263. 
the  Sheikh  at,  on  fatalism  and  self-help,  316. 

Maghraby,  Sheikh,  225. 

Mahmal,  cost  of  the  Egyptian,  196. 

the  puzzle  of  Egypt,  203. 

reverence  for,  206. 

Ma'aleesh  not  a  proof  of  fatalism,  315. 
Martyrdom  of  Hassan  and  Hosein,  celebration 

of,  227. 

Marriages,  the  Prophet's,  misunderstood,  385. 
Married  life  of  the  Prophet,  351. 

and  Mohammed,  387. 
Margoliouth,  Prof.  D.  S.,  on  lack  of  preaching, 

1 20. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  on  Egypt,  383. 
Martyn,  Henry,  on  the  Sufis,  268. 
Mary,  the  Virgin,  322. 


Medina,  a  place  reserved  there  for  the  grave 

of  Jesus,  323. 

Melanchthon  on  the  Prophet,  381. 
Menshawi,  Pasha,  the  bequests  of,  85. 
Miracles  of  saints,  92. 
Missionary  zeal  in  early  Islam,  301. 

College,  a  Moslem,  317. 
Missions,  a  true  way  for,  396. 
Mist  in  Egypt.  70. 
Mohammed,  early  vicious  stories  of,  310. 

different  views  of,  381. 

the  character  of,  according  to  his  contem- 
poraries, 388. 

Mr.  Zwemer's  abu  se  of,  386. 

"  tormented  of  the  Devil,"  404. 
Moolid,  the,  of  Sheikh  Demerdache,  167. 
Moral  teaching  in  Islam,  an  instance  of,  119. 

the  Sheikh  of  Hosein  on,  143. 
Moslems   to  be  baptized  to  take  off  the  evil 

odour,  341. 
Mosque,  visit  to  the  village,  21. 

the  Menshawi,  88. 

confab  in,  35. 

the,  of  Tanta,  90. 

the  first  need  of  a  Moslem  community,  133. 
Mosques,  the  sacred,  visits  to,  135. 

why  Christians  are  excluded  from,  139. 

organisation  of  the,  174. 

the  village,  how  organised,  186. 
Mother,  reverence  taught  to,  349, 
Muir,  Sir  W.,  and  the  story  of  the  Prophet's 

frown,  337. 
Mysticism,  171. 

the,  of  Mohammed,  264. 

Muller,  Max,  on  treatment  of  religions  of  the 
world,  394. 

Napoleon  and  the  Sadat  family,  74. 

and  Islam,  371. 
Nationalist,  the  views  of,  31. 
Nights  for  God,  the  celebration  of,  236. 
Nile,  veneration  for  the  river,  54. 

Omar,  the  question  of  his  burning  the  library 

of  Alexandria,  27. 
at  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  295. 
dealing  with  the  haughty  Jabala,  337. 
did  he  destroy  the  Alexandrian  library,  392. 
Onion,  the   Prophet's  hatred  of  the  smell  of, 
59- 


410 


INDEX 


Oppositiveness  of  East  and  West,  instances  of, 
376- 

Palace,  a  visit  to  the  home,  of  the  late  Pasha 

Menshawi,  99. 
Palaces,  visit  to  Cairo,  72. 
Palgrave  on  Arab  hospitality,  4. 
on  the  veil,  348. 

on  the  freedom  of  women  in  Arabia,  401. 
Pan-Islamism  and  Germany,  373. 
Parker's,  Sir  Gilbert,  backsheesh  fictions,  384. 

limited  knowledge  of  Moslems,  402. 
Passion  Play,  the,  in  Persia,  235. 
Persecute,  have  the  Moslems  an  obligation  to, 

303. 

Persian  tiles,  rare,  in  an  old  palace,  74. 
Persians  and  the  martyrdom  of  Hassan  and 

Hosein,  229. 

Peter  the  Hermit,  fanatical  zeal  of,  304. 
Peters,  Dr.   Carl,  on    the  need  for  German 

expansion,  301. 

on  the  use  Germany  could  make  of  Islam,  372. 
Physical  importance  of  the  postures  of  prayer, 

129. 
Pickthall,    Mr.,  on  early  Moslem  attitude  to 

Christians,  295. 
Pictures,  why  they  are  absent  from  the  homes, 

79. 
Pilgrimage,  the  Egyptian  Court  historian  on, 

218. 
Polygamy,  the  grand  Mufti  on,  363. 

in  the  Bible,  a  Moslem  sheikh  on,  387. 
Popes,  the  savage  libels  of,  3X4. 
Praise,  the  prayer  of,  238. 
Prayer,  evening,  at  the  Mosque  Kekhia,  114. 
evening,  at  the  Mosque  of  Azabam,  123. 
the  conduct  of  the  Moslem  at,  127. 
men  must  not  pass  between  the  worshipper 

and  the  Kibla,  128. 

physical  importance  of  the  postures  of,  129. 
evidence  of  a  deep  devotional  spirit  in,  129. 
private,  131. 

the  charge  of  formalism  in,  131. 
always  the  first  thought,  133. 
the  Semitic  mind  moved  by,  221. 
a,  by  the  Prophet,  270. 
the  theme  of  the  Moslem's  private,  273. 
the  women  and,  358. 
attitude  of  the  East  towards,  375. 
attitude  of  Englishmen  towards,  375. 
women  bound  to  perform  the,  404, 
Preachers,  itinerant,  121. 

a  definite  duty,  122.  ^ 

Pre-Islamic  times,  3. 

women  in,  344. 
Pride,  Arab,  275. 

Lane  on  Arab,  287. 
Prophetism  not  proselytism,  398. 
Prophet,  the  legends  of  his  life,  393. 

the  Moolid  of  the,  241. 
Proverbs  used  in  conversation,  29. 
Puerilities  of  the  ablutions,  Mr.  S.  M.  Zwemer 
on,  281. 

Reformation  of  missionary  methods  and  spirit, 

396- 

Relics  of  the  prophet,  a  visit  to,  149,  151. 
Repentance,  131. 

necessity  for,  284. 

Repetition,  the  use  of,  in  the  East,  249. 
Repression,  a  native  view  of,  35. 
Rida,  Sheikh  Rashit,  on  the  character  of  the 
Prophet,  386. 


Ridicule,  fear  of,  accounts  for  exclusion  of 

Christians  from  the  mosques,  139. 
the  Moslem  expects,  382. 
Rights,   women's,   in    Islam  higher    than  in 

Europe,  359. 
Roman  spies  report  of   their  Moslem  foe  at 

prayer,  277. 

Rosary,  the  Moslem,  313. 
Ruskin    on    the    incompatibility    of   modern 

Englishmen  to  the  East,  375. 
Moslem  appreciation  of  the  writings  of,  382. 

Sadat,  visit  to  the  historic  house  of,  73. 
family,  Napoleon  and  the,  74. 

Saints'  tombs,  on  visiting,  147. 

Scamps,  village,  68. 

School,   government,   little    provision  for  re- 
ligious teaching  at,  158. 

Seclusion  of  women,  the  real  tragedy  of,  357. 

Sermon,  an  informal,  in  the  Mosque  Kekhia, 

1 1 8. 
a  modern  example,  189. 

Shaffey,  Imam,  visit  to  the  tomb  of,  156. 

Shakspeare,  Arab  love  of  the  works  of,  240. 

Shawish,  Sheikh,  on  divorce  in  Egypt,  362. 

Ship,  the,  of  the  Imam  Shaffey,  159. 

Shrews,  the  old  women  as,  62. 

Sidi  Okba,  tolerance  of  a  Christian  at,  288. 

Sidky,    Mohammed    Tewfik,   M.D.,    on   the 
veil,  345. 

Siena,  the  first  and  second  class  funeral  palls, 

404. 
Catherine  of,  on  the  Moslems,  380. 

Simplicity,  the  duty  of,  181. 

Sin,  what  the  Moslems  think  of,  271. 
the  guilt  of,  recognised,  250. 

Slaves  and  Islam,  42. 

Smith,  Bosworth,  on  the  Moslem  treatment  of 
animals,  81. 

Snobbery,  Christian,  in  the  matter  of  funeral 
palls,  404. 

Socialism  in  an  Egyptian  village,  27. 

Spain,  Moslem  toleration  in,  297. 

Speer,  Mr.  Robert,  on  "  The  Cow,"  350. 

St.  Clair-Tisdall,  Rev.  W.,on  Moslem  prayer, 

I2o« 

on  purity  of  the  heart  being  impossible  for  a 

Moslem,  250. 

on  Moslem  formalism,  276. 
his  views  strongly  objected  to  by  the  sheiks, 

on  the  Moslems  and  Jesus,  325. 

unfairness  of  method  of  criticism,  391. 
Stoicism,  outward,  misleading,  315. 
Stone,  the  Black,  220. 
Students  of  Al  Azar,  the  aims  of,  189. 
Sugar-cane,  the  craving  for  the,  60. 
Superstition,  Mohammed  opposed  to,  401. 
Sword  of  Islam,  T.  W.  Arnold  on  the,  298. 

the  Christian,  in  modern  days,  300. 

the  use  of,  denied  by  Christian  missionary, 
3°4- 

Tanta,  a  visit  to,  85. 
the  sheikh  of,  on  the  organisation  of  school 

mosque,  187. 

Teeth,  cleansing  of  the,  281. 
Tertullian  on  the  libels  on  Christians,  311. 
Titles,  the  trade  in,  69. 
Tolerance    as    shown  in    the    Pasha   Men- 

shawi's  bequests,  89. 

Toleration   taught   in    the    original    records, 
M3- 


INDEX 


411 


Toleration  a  slow  growth,  291. 

instances  of  Moslem,  296. 

Moslems  charged  with,  as  an  offence,  403. 
Tombs,  saints  visiting,  224. 
Traditions,  the,  what  is  the  rule  of  acceptance, 

329. 

Travellers  views  on  Eastern  people,  395. 
Travel,  old  or  new  books  of,  401. 
Tribute,  how  it  was  exacted,  299. 
Trinity,  the  only  doctrine  of,  which  known  to 

Mohammed,  322. 

Truth,  does  Islam  encourage  the,  38. 
Turf-Club,  the  spirit  of,  34. 

Universal  Races  Congress,  reception  of  the 

missionary  views  at,  395. 
Usury,  a  genuine  dislike  of,  by  Moslems,  403. 

Veil,  the,  said  to  "  bury  alive  all  women,  345. 

pre-Islamic,  348. 

where  the  tragedy  of  seclusion  is  felt,  357. 

a  cruel  missionary  charge,  394. 
Village,  an  Egyptian,  17. 
Vision,  the  Prophet's,  400. 
Vixer,  Mr.  H.,  experience   with  the  Senussi 

brotherhood  in  the  Sahara  desert,  294. 
Votes  for  women,  an   Egyptian  advocate  of, 


Wakfs  administration,  the,  176. 
administration,  encouragement  of  preaching 
by,  12  1. 


Weather,  has  the  climate  changed,  70. 
Whirling  dervishes,  a  mystical  order  of,  173. 
Whisky,  the  disgrace  of  the  advertisments  of, 

56. 

Witch,  the  drowning  of,  in  England,  96. 
Womenfolk  of  the  village,  58. 
Women,  the  position  of,  340. 

English  customs,  hard  on,  350. 

the  piety  of,  358. 

and  prayer,  359. 

not  necessarily  restrained,  401. 

freedom  in  Arabia,  401. 

bound  to  perform  the  prayers,  404. 
Wordsworth  quoted  by  an  Egyptian,  24. 

"  Yellow  Peril  "  and  Germany,  373. 

Zikr,  of  the  Demerdache  order,  169. 

the,  a  modern  Moslem  on,  169. 
Zikrs,  the,  at  the  Prophet's  Moolid,  253. 
Zwemer,     Mr.     Samuel      M.,  on    bankr 
Islam,  65. 

on  the  Koran  and  salvation  from  sin,  276. 

on  the    puerilities  of  the    instructions  for 
cleanliness,  281. 

charges  of  fanatic  zeal,  298. 

on  Jihad,  303. 

on  fatalism,  307. 

on  pre-Islamic  virtues,  345. 

and  "  the  Cow,"  350. 

abuse  of  the  Prophet,  386. 

i7th  century  quotation,  404. 


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